Functionalist theory of religion

Functionalist theory of religion

Assess the view of functionalists that religion serves to reinforce social integration.
Functionalists see society as like an organism, with basic needs that it must meet to survive. They suggest that each institution performs certain functions to maintain the social system by meeting a need. Society’s most basic need is for social order and solidarity as they believes social solidarity is necessary for society to hold together as without it, individual selfishness would cause social disintegration. For functionalist, what makes order possible is value consensus – a set of shared norms and values for people to follow. Durkheim argues that religious institutions play a central part in creating and maintaining value consensus, order and solidarity.
For Durkheim, the key feature of all religions is a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane. The sacred are things set apart and forbidden, inspiring feelings of awe fear and wonder, with taboos and prohibitions. (For example: in Christianity the cross of Christ is seen as sacred). The profane are ordinary things that have no special significance like a street light. It is believed that a religion is more than a set of beliefs: it has sacred rituals or practices and these rituals are collective – performed by social groups. Durkheim argues that sacred things create powerful feelings in believers because they are symbols representing something of great power, and this thing can only be society. Also for Durkheim sacred symbols perform the essential function of uniting believers into a single moral community as believed that when people worship sacred symbols, they are worshipping society itself. Durkheim believed the essence of all religion could be found by studying its simplest form, in the simplest type of society. Thus he used studies of the of the Arunta, an aboriginal Australian tribe with a clan system; among the Arunta, bands of kin come together to perform ritual worship of a sacred totem. The totem is the clans emblem, such as an animal or plant that symbolises the clans identity, the totemic rituals venerating it reinforce the groups solidarity and sense of belonging. For Durkheim, when clan members worship their totem, they are in reality worshipping society – the totem inspires awe in the clan’s members precisely because it represents the power of the group. However Durkheim did not carry out any research on the Arunta himself, all his information came from secondary sources. Furthermore, religion in the simplest society may not be the same as religion in other societies.
For Durkheim, the sacred symbols represent society’s collective conscience or consciousness – the shared norms, values and beliefs that make cooperation between individuals possible. Without these, society would disintegrate. Suggest that regular shared religious rituals rein force the collective conscience and maintain social integration and maintain social integration. Also rituals remind individuals of the power of society –without which they themselves are nothing, and to which they owe everything thus religions also performs an important function for the individual by making us feel part of something greater than ourselves, it strengthens us to face life’s problems .
Durkheim sees religion as also being the source of our cognitive capacities – our ability to reason and think conceptually. In order to think at all, we need categories such as time. Religion provides the concepts and categories we need for understanding the world and communicating with others. Durkheim and mauss argue that religion provides basic categories such as time, space and causation –e.g with ideas about a creator bringing the world into being at the beginning of time. For Durkheim, religion is the origin of human thought, reason and science. Malinowski argues that religion promotes solidarity by performing psychological functions for individuals, helping them cope with emotional stress that would undermine social solidarity. There are two situations where it performs this role: where the outcome is important but uncontrollable and uncertain. In his study of the trobriand islanders, Malinowski contrast lagoon and ocean fishing. Lagoon fishing is safe but ocean fishing is dangerous and uncertain, so it is always accompanied by canoe magic – rituals to ensure a safe expeditions. This gives people a sense of control. Which eases tension gives them confidence to undertake hazardous tasks and reinforce group solidarity. Another situation is at times of crises such as events as birth, puberty; marriage and death are potentially disruptive change. Malinowski argues that death is the main reason for the existence of religious belief.
Parsons identifies two other essential functions of religion in modern society: as it creates and legitimates society’s basic norms and values by sacralising them (making them sacred). This promotes value consensus and social stability. Also that it provides a source of meaning, answering ultimate questions about life, eg why good people suffer. These may undermine our commitment to society’s values. By answering such questions, religion helps people to adjust to adverse events and maintain stability. Bellah argues that religion unifies society, especially a multi faith society like America. What unifies American society is an overarching civil religion – a belief system that attaches sacred qualities to society itself. Civil religion is a faith in the America way of life. Civil religion integrates society, in a way that individual religion cannot. American civil religion involves loyalty to the nation state and belief in god, both of which are equated with being a true American. It is expressed in various rituals, symbols and beliefs eg the pledge of allegiance to the flag. It sacrifices the American way of life and bids together American from many different ethnic and religious backgrounds.