Which of the following is a criticism of functionalist perspective on religion?

Posted on July 16, 2015February 14, 2016 Posted in Beliefs and Society - Unit 3Tagged A Grade, a level, A2, beliefs and society, Bellah, civil religion, collective conscience, Durkheim, functionalism, Malinowski, Mestrovic, Parsons, Pass, Postmodernism, profane, psychological functions, revision, sacred, social cohesion, social solidarity, sociology, Totemism, unit 3, Worsley

Functionalist Theory

• Functionalists view religion in a positive way; they see religion to play the function of maintaining harmony and social cohesion.
• Functionalism is a value consensus theory and so functionalists see religion as a positive apparatus in society which promotes social solidarity and allows society to run smoothly. Therefore, functionalists are interested in the social and psychological functions that religion performs for the individual and society.
• The key sociologists are;
  • Durkheim – the sacred and the profane, Totemism, the collective conscience, cognitive functions of religion.
  • Malinowski – psychological functions.
  • Parsons – core values
  • Robert Bellah – civil religion

Durkheim – the sacred and the profane

• Durkheim analysed religion and claimed;
  • Societies divide the world into the sacred and the profane.
  • The sacred are things set apart or forbidden which provoke strong feelings of awe, wonder or fear, often surrounded with taboos and prohibitions. The sacred are symbols representing something of great power – society itself as it is the only thing powerful enough to command such feelings. Therefore, people worship society itself when worshipping sacred symbols.
  • The profane are ordinary things with no special significance.
  • Ordinary objects can create powerful emotions of respect and awe. The significance of the object is what they symbolise – they MUST represent something. These are called Totems (a representative symbol).
  • What the objects represent is the Collective conscience – a basic set of shared beliefs, norms and values which make social life possible. Without these, society would disintegrate. All sacred symbols despite religion unite believers into a single moral community.

Durkheim – Totemism

• Durkheim studied aboriginal societies and saw their religion to be the most basic. Durkheim called this Totemism.
• Aboriginal societies divide themselves up into clans; these are similar to large extended families. Each of these clans has a totem (a representative symbol that symbolises the clan’s origin and identity) which they worship. The totem rituals reinforce the group’s solidarity and sense of belonging.
• These totems represent society and God. Durkheim drew the conclusion that because these clans worship these totems which represent society, society is the key object to religious worship. The clan is unaware that they are worshipping society.
• Why use a totem? It is easier to direct respect towards a symbol which worships the clan, rather than respecting the clan itself.
• Durkheim also saw that shared values and moral beliefs are necessary for society to function properly and these shared values and beliefs make up the collective conscience – this holds society together.

Durkheim – the Collective Conscience

• The collective conscience is a basic set of shared beliefs, norms and values that make social life possible. Without these, society would disintegrate.
• Regular shared religious rituals reinforce the collective conscience and maintain social integration. Participation reminds members that they are part of a single moral community. Also reminds individuals of the power of society – without they would be nothing, so owe everything. They feel part of something greater than themselves.

Durkheim – the cognitive functions of religion

• Religion is a source for our intellectual or cognitive capacities – reason and conceptual thinking.
• Religion is the origin of the concepts and categories we need for reasoning, understanding the world, and communicating.
• For Durkheim, religion is the origin of human thought, reason and science.

Criticisms of Durkheim

• Evidence on Totemism is unsound/unreliable.
• Worsley (1956) – there is no sharp division between the sacred and the profane and different clans can share the same totem.
• Even if Durkheim is right about Totemism for the clans, this does not prove that this works for all other religions.
• Applies better to smaller-scale societies with a single religion. It is harder to apply to larger scale societies where 2 or more religious communities (religious pluralism) may be in conflict. His theory does not explain conflict between communities, only integration.
• Postmodernist Mestrovic (1997) argued that Durkheim’s ideas cannot be applied to modern society as diversity has fragmented the collective conscience.
• Durkheim said that religion is the worship of society – this sounds very Marxist despite Durkheim being a functionalist.

Malinowski – psychological functions

• The anthropologist Malinowski agrees with Durkheim that religion promotes solidarity. However, he argues that it does this through performing psychological functions enabling individuals to cope with emotional stress that would otherwise lead to social instability.
• The first situation is the use of a ritual to give people a sense of control in uncertain or difficult scenarios. Malinowski demonstrates this with the Trobriand Islanders;
  • Lagoon fishing is safe and predictable so the islanders do not do any religious rituals. Ocean fishing is dangerous so the islanders use “canoe magic” to ensure a safe and successful trip. This ritual gives the islanders a sense of control and confidence which reinforces solidarity.
• Modern day examples include; praying for a sick family member/ a member of the armed forces.

Malinowski

• Malinowski also looked at how religion can support and help us to deal with issues that cause emotional stress and tension such as births and deaths;
• Births; Christenings give parents an idea of extra protections of their child by a supreme being. It gives the parents a sense of security.
• Deaths; Funerals reinforce solidarity between survivors. Gives a notion of immortality which comforts the bereaved by denying the fact of death.

Parsons – Core Values

• Parsons saw the function of religion to be that it provides guidelines for human actions – it provides core values of culture which promote social solidarity and stabilisation.
• Parsons also saw religion as helping individuals to cope with unforeseen events/uncontrollable outcomes (like Malinowksi) and as the primary source of meaning (like Durkheim).

Robert Bellah – Civil Religion

• Civil religion is a belief system that attaches sacred qualities to society itself.
• Useful because civil religion integrates society in a way that individual religions cannot.
• However, it is not a true religion.

Evaluation of Functionalist Theory

• Functionalist theory is good because;
  • Does not specify a belief in God
  • Inclusive – no bias against non-western religions

• However it can be criticised because;
  • Evidence on totemism is unreliable.
  • Theories cannot be applied to modern society due to diversity.
  • Ignores religion as a source of conflict.
  • Neglects negative aspects of religion e.g. the oppression of women or the poor.
  • Marxism – religion is an oppressive force which creates a false collective conscience stopping the working class from seeing inequality e.g. in Animal Farm, Moses is religion.
  • Feminism – religion is patriarchal and oppresses women.
  • Postmodernism – symbols have lost their meaning. Therefore, religion no longer matters. It is outdated as society is now much more secular.