The view that religion is a conservative force stems from theories from Functionalists, Marxists and Feminists. Each see religion as keeping society in its current form, despite the theories coming to the same conclusion the reasons differ. For Durkheim religion acts as a vital organ in society and keeps society alive by maintaining social solidarity. Functionalists believe that religion creates a shared value consensus and acts as a social glue helping unite individuals as well as helping them cope with stress. In comparison to this view Marxists see society as promoting the interests of the ruling class and legitimating suffering and therefore preventing social change.
They believe we as human beings are prone to sin. We have a proclivity to do terrible things or to be tempted to so (p.30, 2008). They believe our freedom or success of government is dependent on virtue. They further added that only moral people would remain free. On those premise it is asserted that religion play an important part in nurturing the virtue needed for a free society.
Then the theory was applied to human development by Herbert Spencer and William Graham Sumner thought that the economy was a natural event and that it did not need any guidance in its evolution. And based on Sumer’s views they greatly contrasted the beliefs of the Social Gospel. Under the theory of Social Darwinism a person’s “fitness” was determined by their wealth, social status, and their property. And similar to Darwin’s actual theory the poor people in this case were seen as “less fit to survive” because they were seen as being lazy and inferior to the wealthy. Also the theory of Social Darwinism appealed to the protestant work ethic because they believed that anyone could become successful and prosper with hard work intelligence and perseverance.
“The main function of religion is to provide people with a code of behavior which regulates personal and social life”. Assess the extent to which sociological arguments and evidence supports this view of religion in modern society. (33 marks) Functionalists view religion as a central role in institutions like the family and the economy, in creating and maintaining value consensus, order and solidarity. The first functionalist to widen this thought was Durkheim. Durkheim believed that social order and stability only existed if people were integrated into society by value consensus.
The sociology of religion endeavours to ascertain the explanations of social life in regards to religion and the diverse roles it plays within society. However, its goal is not to concern itself with the competing complex belief systems with in society. (Davie, 2007 p. 6) Karl Marx was throughout his life a steadfast atheist. As a socialist he was against the socialism of Christianity. (Aldridge, 2005, p.60) Marx found what he believed to be a full explanation of religion in Ludwig Feuerbach’s work entitled ‘The Essences of Christianity’.
De Tocqueville Essay by Abbi Lavine De Tocqueville, in his warning to France, argues that a free republic needs God more than despotism or monarchy. He begins saying that there are people who desire a change in government from monarchy to a republic to gain freedom. These people want a republic but they don’t want God. They don’t want morals and the Deity hanging over their heads and they certainly don’t want a monarch lording over them. Basically, they don’t want any chains, whether in the form of religion or government.
He opens his speech by acknowledging the role of religious groups in the building of the American society. This is an issue that had no coverage in Johnson’s address. While Reagan concentrates on religious beliefs as the instigators of social growth and development, Johnson preferred that use of education and riches as the means to achieve the same goal. This contrast is evident in the way these two presidents gave their opening speeches. The other big contrast between these two speeches is Reagan’s reiteration the freedom and liberty are things that can only be enjoyed with the full blessings of God (Rodgers, 2011, p164).
Transcendentalism Transcendentalism was a religious and philosophical movement that was developed during the late 1820’s and early 1830’s that was expresses through writing. It was normally seen in the Eastern region of the United States as a protest against the culture, and society. The transcendentalists' beliefs were the inherent goodness of both people and nature. Individualism, Transcendentalists believed that society and the people and organizations (religion and political parties), corrupted individualism. They had faith that people are at their best when they are self-reliant and independent.
The name Pi carries much meaning, to begin with the protagonist’s name is considered to represent the idea of irrationality in the field of mathematics. Throughout the novel, Pi is portrayed as a ‘religious child’. Pi’s believe in religious ideal is somewhat irrational due to the lack of evidence given by these beliefs. A well-known sociologist Karl Marx argues that religion “is the optimum of the people, since religious suffering is at the same time an expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering” (Karl Marx). What Marx means by religion being the optimum of the masses is that people tend to turn to religion for support.
Emille Durkheim was as many know a functionalist and like any other functionalist he examined religion in terms of what a societies needs where. Functionalists are concerned with the way religion contributes to meeting the needs of a society. “The function of religion is the contribution it makes to meeting such functional prerequisites - for example, its contribution to social solidarity.”# Durkheim set out to establish the fact that religion was not divinely or supernaturally inspired but was in fact a product of society. He sought to identify the common things that religion placed an emphasis upon, as well as what effects those religious beliefs (the product of social life) had on the lives of all within a society. To have some insight into Durkheim’s view of religion and social solidarity, we shall firstly look at his idea of the sacred and the profane.