Functionalist view of religion Flashcards
What are the 6 sociological theories on religion?
- Functionalist
- Social Action / Interpretivist
- Radical Feminist
- Traditional Marxist
- Neo-Marxist
- Weberian
What do the first 4 theories argue?
Religion is a conservative force that prevents change.
What do the last 2 theories argue?
Religion can be dynamic at certain times and places.
What do Functionalists and Social Action say about being conservative?
Being conservative is a good thing.
What do Radical Feminists and Traditional Marxists say about being conservative?
Being conservative is a bad thing.
What do functionalists say about religious institutions?
They play a central part in creating and maintaining value consensus, order and solidarity.
Which functionalists talk about religion?
Durkheim
Malinowski
Talcott Parsons
Bellah
What are the 3 key functionalist concepts which show the positive side of religion?
- It provides integration - it brings people together through shared worship and beliefs.
- It reinforces the collective conscience - it gives people shared norms and values.
- Religion reinforces social solidarity - it makes society more stable.
What 4 things does Durkheim talk about?
• The sacred and the profane
• Totemism
• The collective conscience
• Cognitive functions of religion
What are the ‘sacred’?
Things set apart and forbidden, that inspire feelings of awe, fear and wonder, and are surrounded by taboos and prohibitions. They evoke powerful feelings as the symbols represent things of a greater power, which Durkheim thinks is society. So, when people worship the symbols, they are worshipping society. By doing so, they perform the essential function of uniting believers into a single moral community.
What are the ‘profane’?
Things that have no special significance - things that are ordinary and mundane. It involves definite rituals or practices in the relation to the sacred, and these rituals are collective - performed by social groups.
What did Durkheim do? (Totemism)
He believed that the essence of all religion could be found by studying its simplest form, in the simplest type of society - clan society. So he used studies of the Arunta (an Aboriginal Australian tribe with a clan system.)
Describe what the Arunta clans do
Come together periodically to perform rituals which involve worshipping a sacred totem.
What does the totem symbolise?
The clans identity, origin, solidarity and a sense of belonging. When they worship the totem, they are therefore worshipping society. It represents the power of a group which an individual is ‘utterly dependent’.
Summarise what Durkheim says about Totemism.
Worship of the totem is really worship of their society indirectly.