Function of Religion in Society according to Durkheim (the sociologist) Video

The Functions of Religion (according to Durkheim)

1.Stability and cohesion shared religion binds people closely together

a.Religion forms a balanced and cohesive moral community. It is a means of protecting individuals from anomie, alienation and the threats of disruptive mass movements and so maximises the individuals potential for happiness
b.Shared religious experiences provide the social cement for group unity and consensus

2.Social identity shared religion gives people an identity and social membership

a.This is achieved through special naming ceremonies, in christening and baptism in the Christian church. For Durkheim, group solidarity is affirmed and heightened during collective ceremony and ritual
b.They represent the necessary power of the social group over the otherwise isolated, anomic individual
c.Religion serves to integrate the person into the society. It is functionally useful for people to grow up identifying with a particular place or nation, to strengthen a persons sense of national commitment, especially if either religion or nation come under threat

3.Collective conscience religion unites people in moral ways
a.The group affirms its belief in the central values through its commitment to the religious system. These sentiments produce value consensus
b.Religion thereby generates and maintains the collective conscience. This was observable in its effects and was open to scientific study just as other social effects could be studied and analysed, by collecting relevant statistics, through careful observation and recording or other experimental methods
c.Durkheim saw society as a moral community, whose members were socialised into accepting appropriate patterns of behaviour over time. This is an unending process since people are always being integrated into new groups, adopting new norms, absorbing new values and adapting new patterns of behaviour
d.An orderly social life is only possible when people share moral values; in this way, society becomes embedded in the individual

4.Socialisation and social control religion represents the value system of the society
a.It is a conservative force which contributes to moral and wider social order and stability
b.Many cultural norms are given sacred legitimacy by religious beliefs, e.g. the Ten Commandments provide a prescription for an orderly lifestyle. By promoting such values through family, school and church, the process of socialisation occurs
c.Appropriate modes of thinking and behaving are controlled in ways which will promote the good, orderly society

5.Meaning and purpose religion gives meaning and purpose to peoples lives
a.In the face of death, disease and the hazards of everyday living, people are vulnerable to all kinds of disasters beyond their control. Religious beliefs offer people comfort in times of crisis
b.It is the institution which gives people the strength to continue and promotes the long-term maintenance of society as a result

Points of Evaluation: Strengths of Durkheims Theory

1.The functionalists helped to re-establish interest in the analysis of religion. They put it into a wider social context, to see its relations with other institutions in society. Later theorists (such as Merton) developed additional concepts, such as those of manifest functions, dysfunctions and functional alternatives; so that science, nationalism, communism and even football, might be seen as serving as a functional religious alternative for some.

2.Durkheims work is accepted as a brilliant sociological account. He showed the inadequacies of earlier approaches and produced a more elaborate explanation. This laid emphasis on the importance of establishing the origin of religion, which he saw as the worship of society itself in group rituals and ceremonies.

3.He demonstrated how the collective features of religious activity are crucially important for the members and for the society in providing stability and integration. The functions of ritual were to assert the power of society over the individuals who comprised it and so maintain the social solidarity of the social group. Religion was not a vague fear of the unknown forces which surrounded them, but a relationship between members of a community who needed institutions to protect its moral and long term social life.



http://www.coombegirlsschool.org/sixth/sociology/documents/DurkhiemReligion.doc

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Signofthedollar: Religion and many philosophies are systems of rationalization. Durkheim is attempting to defend religion by saying its for the greater good. Thus religion sees the average Joe as only a means to an end. The reason that society and God fit so well together is that neither one exist. Only individuals exist, rational individuals and irrational individuals.

TheNeocatZone: Those are actually all very good points that I think people should stop and consider for once although I am a little uneasy by some of the language Durkehim used. Some fair counter-arguments would be that these benefits can be obtained just as easily through a secular or even non-spiritual format and that INSTITUTIONAL religion offers very little of these benefits, but nonetheless all good points.

LakeShaman: Society clearly exists, and what does that have to do with why God fits or how he fits in to society. Sorry I don't see the logic in that, Signofthedollar. You can't say - with a rational argument at bay - that because God apparently doesn't exist, society apparently doesn't exist either. We've all been given the freedom to believe what we want to; that's part of the reason why God "exists".

NUFC251081: What is your favourite football team?

kavinho: Socities may not exists in matter, but it serves a function for individuals. It's about sharing risks, success and pursuing projects that is impossible to do by any individual alone.

Author: BespokeGroupUK; Uploaded: Nov 9, 2009; Duration: 9:1; Views: 242

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