Functionalist approach to religion
Discuss the functionalist perspective on religion. (20 marks)
The functionalist perspective is a consensus theory; it believes that society has a set of shared values and beliefs. Durkheim was the 1st functionalist to develop the idea that religious institutions play a central part in creating and maintaining value consensus, order and solidarity. The anthropologist, Malinowski, built on Durkheim's idea and expanded with his own ideas. The functionalists, Parsons and Bellah later added their own ideas.
For Durkheim, the key feature of religion is a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane that are found in all religions. He defined the sacred as things that are set apart and inspire feelings of awe, fear and wonder. By contrast, the profane are things that have no special significance, they are ordinary and mundane. Religion involves definite rituals in relation to the sacred and these rituals are performed by social groups. The importance of the sacred is that they evoke powerful feelings in believers and this indicates to Durkheim that this is because they are symbols representing something of great power. He says that this thing can only be society itself since society is the only thing powerful enough to command such feeling, when people worship the sacred therefore people are worshipping society itself. Although sacred symbols vary between religions, they all perform essential functions of uniting believers into a single community. Durkheim studied in his view, the simplest society, the clan society, in the belief that the essence of all religion could be found here. He studied the Arunta tribe who have a clan system. The clan have a totem that symbolises its origins and identity and the totemic rituals in which people respect the symbol, serve to reinforce the groups solidarity and sense of belonging. Durkheim says when clan members worship their totem; they are in reality worshipping society- even though they themselves are not aware
The functionalist perspective is a consensus theory; it believes that society has a set of shared values and beliefs. Durkheim was the 1st functionalist to develop the idea that religious institutions play a central part in creating and maintaining value consensus, order and solidarity. The anthropologist, Malinowski, built on Durkheim's idea and expanded with his own ideas. The functionalists, Parsons and Bellah later added their own ideas.
For Durkheim, the key feature of religion is a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane that are found in all religions. He defined the sacred as things that are set apart and inspire feelings of awe, fear and wonder. By contrast, the profane are things that have no special significance, they are ordinary and mundane. Religion involves definite rituals in relation to the sacred and these rituals are performed by social groups. The importance of the sacred is that they evoke powerful feelings in believers and this indicates to Durkheim that this is because they are symbols representing something of great power. He says that this thing can only be society itself since society is the only thing powerful enough to command such feeling, when people worship the sacred therefore people are worshipping society itself. Although sacred symbols vary between religions, they all perform essential functions of uniting believers into a single community. Durkheim studied in his view, the simplest society, the clan society, in the belief that the essence of all religion could be found here. He studied the Arunta tribe who have a clan system. The clan have a totem that symbolises its origins and identity and the totemic rituals in which people respect the symbol, serve to reinforce the groups solidarity and sense of belonging. Durkheim says when clan members worship their totem; they are in reality worshipping society- even though they themselves are not aware