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DAILY
CLASS NOTES
Sociology

Lecture - 87
RELIGION AND
SOCIETY- 2
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RELIGION AND SOCIETY- 2

Evolutionary theories

1. Comte in his theory of evolution of society said that society can be divided into three

stages, with the first being the theological stage where religion emerged as a means

to provide answers to unknown questions and satisfy human curiosity. Anism

,pluralism and monotheism are the different stages of evolution in the theological

stage. As science began to develop, it presented alternative explanations for these

same questions. This scientific renaissance will eventually result in the decline of

religion in society, as rational thinking becomes more prominent.

2. Tylor sees the origin of religion as a response to man’s intellectual needs and sees

animism as the first stage in the evolution of religion.

3. Max Muller argued that religion emerges as a response to man’s emotional need. He

sees the origin of religion to man’s ability to personify the natural occurings and find

the causes behind them. Eg- Indra , the rain god who provides rains.

FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE

1. Functionalists see religion as serving the functions of social cohesion, maintaining

social solidarity, providing solace function and maintaining social order. Religion is an

essential element for maintaining integration in society.

2. According to Yinger, Religion is a system of beliefs and practices by means of which a

group of people struggles with the ultimate problems of human life.

Problems with the definition

 The definition of religion does not apply to a wide variety of belief systems.

 Assumes certain roles of the religion which may vary with society and time.

 “Ultimate problem” is subjectively interpreted by different people.

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3. Malinowski advocates that religion looks to reinforce social norms and values for

providing social solidarity. Religion deals with situations of emotional stress that

threatens the stability of society and thus help in maintaining solidarity. Religion is

an institution which helps individuals to cope up with situations of stree and anxiety.

4. Parsons advocates that religion provides the norms and values to be followed by

society and this creates value consensus in society and helps in maintaining social

equilibrium.Religion addresses particular problems of society i.e it tries to handle the

crisis of uncertainty in such a manner that it maintains social stability. Therefore,

Parsons advocates the functional role of religion i.e it provides meaning to life and

provides the norms that guide behaviour and identifies goals because it influences

shared beliefs and contributes to value consensus in society which is important for

integration and stability in society. However he ignored the dysfunctional role of

religion and does not see that it can also create hostility in society. Also, it is majorly

a status quoist theory with no regard to social change.

5. Durkheim also sees the evolution of religion from totemism to complex religion in

modern societies. He traced the origin of religion to totemism. According to him, our

social world is divided into categories i.e sacred and profane.

 He advocates that social gathering leads to realisation of heightened energy and

people start worshiping totems because they identify the totem being the major

reason behind the feeling of collective effervescence but it is actually the societies

and social solidarity which is being worshiped through festivals.

 Therefore, for Durkheim religion exists through collective conscious and shared

values. In fact , he states that when people worship ancestors and by doing so

they propagate their social values. Durkheim believes that collective worshiping

leads to integration in society.

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 He advocates that in modern society, religion is likely to emerge in new form as

it provides functional necessity for persistence of society and since society requires

cohesion and solidarity, religion will exist in new form reaffirming new values.

MARXIST PERSPECTIVE

1. Marx sees religion as a source of oppression which creates false consciousness among

people to sustain the social order, maintain the dominance of the richer class and

continue the exploitation of the working class by promoting dominant ideology.

Religion is the opium of masses because according to him, religion alleviates the strain

of exploitation as the opium reduces one’s pain and makes life bearable and dilutes

the demand for change. According to marxist perspective, religion acts as a

mechanism of social control promoting the ideology of the dominant class by

maintaining the existing system of exploitation. This enables religion to reinforce class

relationships. He thus sees it as a manipulative institution.

2. Engels view oppressed classes as the most fertile ground for religious movement.So

religion delays the communist revolution by diluting class consciousness.therefore

religion is a tool which defers communist revolution by making the suffering look like

virtue. For Engels, religion justifies social order and positioning and acts as a tool for

bourgeoisie and mode of oppression for the proletariat.

3. Garmsci sees religion as a tool of establishing hegemony by the ruling class.

4. Althusser advocates that religion controls the people’s ideology and people submit to

it due to fear of social ridicule.

5. Otto Maduro sees religion having relative autonomy and can be a source of social

change.He believes that members of clergy can develop revolutionary potential where
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oppressed members have no outlet for grievances and can pressurize the priests to

take up their cause.These conditions led to the development of Liberation Theology.

6. Bryan Turner has talked about changing roles of religion in modern society, where

religion is also promoting consumerism in youth.

INTERACTIONIST PERSPECTIVE

Peter Berger sees religion as a human creation and which overtime controls its creator

itself. He views religion as the outcome of human experiences and differentiate between

cosmos and nomos. Nomos is a comprehendible one while the cosmos is non

comprehendible by humans and is given the distinction of being sacred which maintains

and legitimizes the social order.

FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE

Religion is a product of patriarchy. An instrument of domination and oppression.

1. Giddens - Christian religion is a resolutely male affair. God is the father, a male

figure and also the pope etc are males.

2. Karen Armstrong – All major religions a male affair. Women have been relegated to

marginal positions in all the religions.

3. Jean Holm – Women do have some role in religion, but it is always subordinate and

in the private sphere.

4. Mary Daly – She advocates that religious language, images need to be changed as

the existing symbols perpetuate the sexist world.

5. Carol Christ –She advocates the creation of Thea-logy, replacing theology which is

the worship of goddesses and the religion for females.

6. Steve Bruce advocates that women constitute 65 % of church attenders in Britain.

Thus they are the major propagators of religion but none of these women hold higher

positions in religion.
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Rational choice theory

Religion is seen in similar terms to a market in which individual consumer choices are

important in determining whether a particular religion is successful or not. Consumers of

religions have choices to choose a religion.

It rejects Secularism.

1. Stark and Bainbridge advocate a Compensatory Theory. Religion creates a belief

that a reward will be obtained in a distant future or in some other context which

cannot be verified. Compensator brings in the idea of the supernatural. There is

increasing religious pluralism as people have sought new sources of compensators.

2. Rodney Starks and Roger Pinke advocate that different people look for different

things in religion and religions emerge to satisfy the new needs of society. Eg

Asceticism in Jainism, Materialism in Protestantism etc.

Steve Bruce criticizes it and advocates that there is decreasing belief in religious values.

That secularization is taking place. Religious pluralism is leading to lower numbers of

church memberships.

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