Defining Religion:-
Three ways of describing or defining religion is seen:
1. As set of Beliefs: monotheistic, polytheistic and non-theistic.
2. As set of Practices: collective worship & prayers also covering ceremonies as weddings or funeral,
festivals
3. As an organization: Islam (Mosques), Christianity (Church) and the people as priest, imams, and vicars
“Diversity” as a characteristic of Religion:-
Religion is expressed in many ways across three dimensions:
1. Historical
2. Contemporaneous
3. Cross-cultural
McGuire: Religion has a “dual Character”
1. Individual Level : different beliefs and practices
2. Social Level: Socialization, Social Solidarity, Social Control
Inclusive & Exclusive Approach of Understanding Religion:-
1.Inclusive Approach: Broader perspective, focuses on the functions of religion, focus on what it does for the
people, uncritical and complete acceptance of a particular set of ideas.
Durkheim: Suggest that religion carried out two necessary functions.
1. Social Solidarity
2. Social integration
2.Exclusive Approach: Narrower perspective, focuses on religion as being a belief system of Ideology and in
terms of things conventionally sees as religious such as “belief in God” and “Behavior” such as prayer,
collective worship and ceremonies.
According to exclusive, religion has essential characteristics as:
1. The scared:
2. Moral codes:
3. Communication with supernatural:
Difficulties in measuring religious belief:-
McGuire: Religion as having a dual character, involves measurement across two dimensions.
1. Individual indicators.
2. Social Indicators.
Cornwall: identifies three broad dimensions of religiosity.
1. Knowing
2. Doing
3. feeling
When measuring religiosity, following possibilities must be understood
1. Believe without belonging
2. Belong without believing
The extent to which people participate in religious activities can be viewed in two basic ways:
1. Attendance: at religious services/ meetings
2. Membership: with religious organizations
Membership is Complicated for the reasons as:
Smaller religious organizations being reluctant to reveal membership
Organizations when supply their own data, may increase the membership figures
Some religious organizations do not hold services or enlist members.
Abrams: a more valid way to understand religiosity is to measure commitment (which may be measured in
four shapes):
1. Disposition
2. Orthodox belief:
3. Moral values:
4. Institutional attachment:
Functionalism
Functionalists contend that religion serves several functions in society.
Religion, in fact, depends on society for its existence, value, and
significance, and vice versa. From this perspective, religion serves
several purposes, like providing answers to spiritual mysteries, offering
emotional comfort, and creating a place for social interaction and social
control.
In providing answers, religion defines the spiritual world and spiritual
forces, including divine beings. For example, it helps answer questions
like, “How was the world created?” “Why do we suffer?” “Is there a plan
for our lives?” and “Is there an afterlife?” As another function, religion
provides emotional comfort in times of crisis. Religious rituals bring
order, comfort, and organization through shared familiar symbols and
patterns of behavior.
One of the most important functions of religion, from a functionalist
perspective, is the opportunities it creates for social interaction and the
formation of groups. It provides social support and social networking and
offers a place to meet others who hold similar values and a place to
seek help (spiritual and material) in times of need. Moreover, it can
foster group cohesion and integration.
Conflict Theory
Conflict theorists view religion as an institution that helps maintain
patterns of social inequality. For example, the Vatican has a tremendous
amount of wealth, while the average income of Catholic parishioners is
small. According to this perspective, religion has been used to support
the “divine right” of oppressive monarchs and to justify unequal social
structures, like India’s caste system.
Conflict theorists are critical of the way many religions promote the idea
that believers should be satisfied with existing circumstances because
they are divinely ordained. This power dynamic has been used by
Christian institutions for centuries to keep poor people poor and to teach
them that they shouldn’t be concerned with what they lack because
their “true” reward (from a religious perspective) will come after death.
Conflict theorists also point out that those in power in a religion are
often able to dictate practices, rituals, and beliefs through their
interpretation of religious texts or via proclaimed direct communication
from the divine.
