When being together in religious rituals, social groups are able to express their faith and their common beliefs and values. Malinowski, who is also a functionalist agreed with Durkheim that religion reinforces social norms and values and promotes social solidarity. He believes that the main function of religious belief is to promote social stability for example in crises of life. He believes that religion helps deal with the problem of death with the religious celebration of a funeral. A funeral denies the fact of death and comforts the people who it has affected.
Assess the functionalist view that religion benefits both society as a whole and its individual members (18 marks) Functionalists believe that religion is beneficial for both society as a whole and it’s individual members, this is because it unifies society and creates consensus, which in turn gives each individual member a source of support when they need it. However some theorists disagree with the functionalist ideology. Firstly, functionalist claim religion benefits society in a number of ways, it creates a sense of social solidarity, meaning a shared sense of identity, history, norms and values (a collective conscience). This is supported by item A, ‘religions contribution to value consensus and social integration’. Functionalist explain that if all of a societies members are part of the same religion then they all share the same belief system, resulting in consensus between all of its members.
Buddhism has an emphasis on finding the truth from within the human spirit while a transcendent worldview such as Christianity places emphasis on God being beyond the world. Definition: It is the religious worldview that adherents believe in a God that exists within and ever present in the universe, within nature. Ann immanent religious worldview holds that God/s and Goddess/es or divine spirits and is maintained by their power. Impact on Individuals, Society and culture: Religious worldview: morals/ethics/beliefs/sense of belonging/identity Offers individual purpose, individuals answers to life's profound questions Art – Interpretation of the bible
Playing cards and dancing are a few examples of what was believed to be wrongful. The people were imprisoned if found not to be living by Calvinism. I think people were drawn to John Calvin’s beliefs because religion seemed to be established and with a strong leader. People probably were drawn to having a religion with rules set in place. I personally think people should be allowed to have their own opinions and views on religion.
Throughout Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, he depicts the realities of religion in democracies, while illustrating the importance of Religion in the continued success of democracies. He also states that for a number of reasons, and not unlike all other forms of government, there are dangers. He points out the importance of religion by displaying how it aids the avoidance of these dangers and, the sustained prosperity of democracy. To first determine the importance of religion in democracies, you must first determine its dangers. The first of these dangers is susceptibility of Americans to extreme individualism, and isolation from the community.
These differences in answers stem from each individual’s personal beliefs and morals. These beliefs and morals in turn stem from that individual’s history and culture. Thus, religion plays an important role in answering this question. At the most basic level, the religious person would answer that the purpose of being human is to “do onto others as you wish to have done onto you”. However, as society becomes less and less religious and consumerism increases in importance, this foundational rule, the golden rule, is being replaced with an
Evidence that criticises the marxist perspective states that there are many instances where religious leaders or movements have challenged the established order and help promote change. The general marxist approach is similar to the functionalist. They both tend to believe that religions have the same interests and ideologies. By being opposites on the political spectrum Marxists and Functionalists both agree that the purpose of religion is to benefit the ruling class. Marx and Durkheim share the assumption that religion was a product of society and that it is a conservative force.
Islamic and Buddhist Religious Worldview A complex institution of diverse teachings, beliefs, and rituals; religion provides people with a greater sense of reality. It is the basic foundation of life in various cultures around the world; and its convictions provide people with a spiritual identity and define life purpose. The practice of religion allows people to go beyond the five senses and gain a “direct experience of an inexplicable presence” (Fisher, 2005, p. 1). Religious perspectives vary according to culture, ethnicity and worldviews. Two of the three major religions Christianity and Islam both worship and God, acknowledge its presence in humanity and adhere to a list of laws or sacred scriptures.
Although there are differences between Islam and Christianity such as an authoritarian perspective versus a democratic perspective, respectively, one can perceive several uniting characteristics after an in-depth review. For example, both religions are based on paternalistic governed society. In addition, both emphasize and define “right” or “spiritual living” and the consequences of sin. Granted, Christianity and Islam contain people that are counterproductive to the ideals of the religion. Both inherently believe that their higher power, despite the difference in name, is the ultimate judge and directs the paths of his followers.
Emile Durkheim explains that, “religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things that is to say things set part and forbidden beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a church, all those who adhere to them.” (1) Religion can vary so widely that there is also room for error. While religion can serve as a social cement to bring people together that share the same or similar values, it can also serve dysfunctional purposes that can destroy not only states and governments, but societies and world order. In order to understand the roles that both Jesus and Muhammad played in religious proximity we must first understand the religious world, it coming together and the social functions it serves. In Gods in the Global Village, Lester R. Kurts explains that there are three components of religion, “beliefs, rituals, and institutions” according to Durkheim. (1) Beliefs refer to the scared, the things one values most as worthy or give praise