Sociological Perspectives On Religion

In this essay there will be information on the different sociological perspectives and how they all link to religion in the United Kingdom. There are many different religions in the United Kingdom from Christianity to Islamic, religion is also known as a belief, cultural systems and world views that relate humanity to an order in life. There are many different types of religion; they are usually represented by symbols. The symbols are only sacred if the individuals in the society regard them as sacred; example of sacred symbols is the Star of David in Judaism, the cross in Christianity and the crescent star in Islam. Many religions have sacred histories to describe what life is and the meaning of it; they also describe the origin of life and
Religion brings society together, by different individuals sharing the same religion and beliefs. These individuals meet up in big groups such as mass and church. To make these social interactions the society arranges different events and groups, where individuals can go for support, advice and answers. Many individuals who are religious follow the same religion as their family; this is because religion is most often passed down the generation in families. Some individuals change their beliefs to ask questions such as “why am I born” “why do I suffer?” “Is there an afterlife?” Some religion can control social norms like birth control, abortions, clothing, and food. The main functionalist sociologist is Emile Durkheim, his argument was that societies divide the world into two parts, which are the sacred and the irreligious. The sacred support their own religions (Christianity, Islamic, Jews etc.) however the irreligious do not believe in any of the religions. Even the irreligious pray to a god or attend church sometime in their
This perspective is something that individuals attach themselves to. The symbolic perspective is a theory that individuals rely on, by using symbolic meanings. Symbolic interactionism relies upon the process of the social interaction, this means in the religion perspective that individuals rely on the symbol of their religion (e.g. Christians rely on the cross) it is something individuals believe in. Individuals use symbols for many things, they use the cross to pray to, and people wear the cross or even have it tattooed onto their skin, not just Christians. There are more symbols to Christianity such as, the holy bible, Jesus, god, priests and the holy bread. There are symbols that not many people think about such as the cup of wine, the ashes on Ash Wednesday. Religion would not be possible without symbols, this is because the cross is something Christians pray to, same as the holy bible, if there wasn’t that then the Christians wouldn’t be following the religion. The holy bible helps Christians control and live their lives. Priests are a good example of the symbolic interactionism, this is because many Christians and individuals who don’t believe in religion often go to priests for advice, someone to talk to, confessions and favors (such as praying for loved