Republic of the Philippines

Laguna State Polytechnic University

San Pablo City, Laguna Campus

Topic: Religion and Society

Discussant: Dyan Kristine M. Pasana
Professor: Ruby A. Brion, PH. D.

Sociological Theories of religion

The ideas of three early sociological theorists continue to strongly influence the sociology of
religion: Durkheim, Weber, and Marx.

Even though none of these three men was particularly religious, the power that religion holds
over people and societies interested them all. They believed that religion is essentially an illusion;
because culture and location influence religion to such a degree, the idea that religion presents a
fundamental truth of existence seemed rather improbable to them. They also speculated that, in
time, the appeal and influence of religion on the modern mind would lessen.

 Durkheim and functionalism

Emile Durkheim, the founder of functionalism, spent much of his academic career studying
religions, especially those of small societies. Durkheim found that people tend to separate
religious symbols, objects, and rituals, which are sacred, from the daily symbols, objects, and
routines of existence referred to as the profane. Sacred objects are often believed to have divine
properties that separate them from profane objects. Even in more‐advanced cultures, people still
view sacred objects with a sense of reverence and awe, even if they do not believe that the objects
have some special power.

Durkheim's theory of religion exemplifies how functionalists examine sociological phenomena.

According to Durkheim, people see religion as contributing to the health and continuation of
society in general. Thus, religion functions to bind society's members by prompting them to
affirm their common values and beliefs on a regular basis.

Durkheim predicted that religion's influence would decrease as society modernizes. He believed
that scientific thinking would likely replace religious thinking, with people giving only minimal
attention to rituals and ceremonies. He also considered the concept of “God” to be on the verge of
extinction. Instead, he envisioned society as promoting civil religion, in which, for example, civic
celebrations, parades, and patriotism take the place of church services. If traditional religion were
to continue, however, he believed it would do so only as a means to preserve social cohesion and
order.

 Weber and social change

Durkheim claimed that his theory applied to religion in general, yet he based his conclusions on a
limited set of examples. Max Weber, on the other hand, initiated a large‐scale study of religions
around the globe. His principal interest was in large, global religions with millions of believers.
He conducted in‐depth studies of Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and
Taoism. In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904/1958), Weber examined the
impact of Christianity on Western thinking and culture.
The fundamental purpose of Weber's research was to discover religion's impact on social change.
For example, in Protestantism, especially the “Protestant Work Ethic,” Weber saw the roots of
capitalism. In the Eastern religions, Weber saw barriers to capitalism. For example, Hinduism
stresses attaining higher levels of spirituality by escaping from the toils of the mundane physical
world. Such a perspective does not easily lend itself to making and spending money.

To Weber, Christianity was a salvation religion that claims people can be “saved” when they
convert to certain beliefs and moral codes. In Christianity, the idea of “sin” and its atonement by
God's grace plays a fundamental role. Unlike the Eastern religions' passive approach, salvation
religions like Christianity are active, demanding continuous struggles against sin and the negative
aspects of society.

 Marx: Conflict theory

Despite his influence on the topic, Karl Marx was not religious and never made a detailed study
of religion. Marx's views on the sociology of religion came from 19th century philosophical and
theological authors such as Ludwig Feuerbach, who wrote The Essence of Christianity (1841).
Feuerbach maintained that people do not understand society, so they project their own culturally
based norms and values onto separate entities such as gods, spirits, angels, and demons.
According to Feuerbach, after humans realize that they have projected their own values onto
religion, they can achieve these values in this world rather than in an afterlife.

Marx once declared that religion is the “opium of the people.” He viewed religion as teaching
people to accept their current lot in life, no matter how bad, while postponing rewards and
happiness to some afterlife. Religion, then, prohibits social change by teaching nonresistance to
oppression, diverting people's attention away from worldly injustices, justifying inequalities of
power and wealth for the privileged and emphasizing rewards yet to come.

Although people commonly assume that Marx saw no place for religion, this assumption is not
entirely true. Marx held that religion served as a sanctuary from the harshness of everyday life
and oppression by the powerful. Still, he predicted that traditional religion would one day pass
away.

Types of Religious Practices

 Sect and Cult

A sect is a small religious group that has branched off of a larger established religion. Sects have
many beliefs and practices in common with the religion that they have broken off from, but are
differentiated by a number of doctrinal differences.

Sects are concerned with purity of doctrine and with the depth of genuineness of religions feeling.
A cult, by contrast, also has a high degree of tension with the surrounding society, but its beliefs
are (within the context of that society) new and innovative. It may seek to transform society but
more often concentrate upon creating satisfying group experience.

 Animism

Animism means the belief in spirits.E.B. Taylor in his famous book Primitive Culture developed
the thesis of animism and subsequently he developed the distinction between magic, religion and
science. In his thesis of animism he advocated that anima means spirit. Animism refers to a given
form of religion in which man finds the presence of spirit in every object that surrounds him.
Taking this fact into consideration primitive mind considered that when man sleeps the soul
moves out of the body of man temporarily and when he is dead it leaves out the body
permanently.

 Monism
Monism (Greek monos,"single"), in philosophy, is a doctrine that ultimate reality is entirely of
one substance. Monism is thus opposed to both dualism and pluralism. Three basic types of
monism are recognized: materialistic monism, idealistic monism, and the mind-stuff theory.
According to the first doctrine, everything in the universe, including mental phenomena, is
reduced to the one category of matter. In the second doctrine, matter is regarded as a form of
manifestation of mind; and in the third doctrine, matter and mind are considered merely aspects
of each other. Although monistic philosophies date from ancient Greece, the term monism is
comparatively recent.

 Pluralism

Religious pluralism is sometimes used as a synonym for interfaith dialogue. Interfaith dialogue
refers to dialogue between members of different religions for the goal of reducing conflicts
between their religions and to achieve agreed upon mutually desirable goals. Inter-religious
dialogue is difficult if the partners adopt a position of particularism, i.e. if they only care about
the concerns of their own group, but is favored by the opposite attitude of universalism, where
care is taken for the concerns of others. Interfaith dialogue is easier if a religion's adherents have
some form of inclusivism, the belief that people in other religions may also have a way to
salvation, even though the fullness of salvation can be achieved only in one’s own religion.
Conversely, believers with an exclusivist mindset will rather tend to proselytize followers of other
religions, than seek an open-ended dialogue with them.

Religion in Modern Society

 Religion and Science

The term “science” as it is currently used also became common only in the nineteenth century.
Prior to this, what we call “science” was referred to as “natural philosophy” or “experimental
philosophy”. One way to distinguish between science and religion is the claim that science
concerns the natural world, whereas religion concerns both the natural and the supernatural.
Scientific explanations do not appeal to supernatural entities such as gods or angels (fallen or
not), or to non-natural forces (like miracles, karma, or Qi). For example, neuroscientists typically
explain our thoughts in terms of brain states, not by reference to an immaterial soul or spirit.

 Religious Revivalism
Religious revivalism is term applied to mass movements which are based upon intense religious
upheaval. Periodic religious revivals which seek to restore commitment and attachment to the
group are a regular sociological feature of religious traditions. Revivalism happened in 18th
century in western world among Methodists.
 Religious fundamentalism

Religious fundamentalism refers to the belief of an individual or a group of individuals in the

absolute authority of a sacred religious text or teachings of a particular religious leader, prophet,
and/ or God. These fundamentalists believe that their religion is beyond any form of criticism,
and should therefore also be forced upon others. Logical explanations and scientific evidences
have no place in these belief systems if they work against their religious fundamentalists. For
fundamentalists, religion dictates every sphere of their daily lives, and they also attempt to
involve the entire society into their own belief system, often by the use of force.

 Secularization

Secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification and
inn with religious values and institutions toward nonreligious values and secular institutions.
The secularization thesis re5fers to the belief that as society’s progress, particularly
through modernization and rationalization, religion loses its authority in all aspects of social life
and governance. The term secularization is also used in the context of the lifting of the monastic
restrictions from a member of the clergy.

Secularization refers to the historical process in which religion loses social and cultural
significance. As a result of secularization the role of religion in modern societies becomes
restricted. In secularized societies faith lacks cultural authority, and religious organizations have
little social power.