Beliefs In Society (Not Finished)

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(a) Using material from ITEM A and elsewhere, assess the functionalist view that religion benefits both society as a whole and its individual members. (18 marks). To Functionalists, society has many basic needs that need to be fulfilled in order to function properly, the main need that maintains social stability is the need for social order, so that its members can cooperate. For Functionalists, what makes order possible is the existence of value consensus – a set of shared norms and values by which society’s members live by. Without this, individuals would pursue their own selfish desires and society would disintegrate. DURKHEIM ON RELIGION: To Durkheim, the key feature of religion was not a belief in Gods, Spirits or the supernatural, but a primary distinction between the sacred and the profane found in all religions. Sacred: things set apart and forbidden. Profane: things that have no special significance. Furthermore religion involves definite rituals or practices in relation to the sacred, and these rituals are collective. Durkheim believed that the essence of all religion could be found by studying its simplest form, in the simplest type of society – clan society. For this reason, he used studies of the Arunta, an Aboriginal tribe with a clan system. Among the Arunta, bands of kin come together to perform ritual worship of a sacred totem, (the totem is the clans emblem, such as an animal or plant that symbolises the clans identity). The totemic rituals venerating it reinforce the group’s solidarity and sense of belonging. For Durkheim, when clan members worship their totem, they are in reality worshipping society – the totem inspires awe in the clan’s members precisely because it represents the power of the group. His view on sacred symbols represents society's collective consciousness which is the shared norms, values beliefs and knowledge that make social
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