functionalist view that religion benefits society as a whole and its individual members

functionalist view that religion benefits society as a whole and its individual members

Asses the functionalist view that religion benefits society as a whole and its individual members


Emile Durkheim defines religion in terms of the contribution it makes to social integration, rather than any specific belief in God or the supernatural. Through this essay I will be analysing Durkheim’s views, as well as other functionalists’ views about society and to what extent religion does benefit society. To functionalists religion is a part of the way of life for society, helping to maintain cultural traditions and establish the basic rules of social life. Also promoting social harmony, integration and solidarity through the reinforcement of the value consensus.

Durkheim believes that religion binds people together as it creates a collective conscience; shared beliefs and values which make social life and co-operation possible. The placing of those values in terms of a sacred object or text is likely to make people follow it, for example the Ten Commandments in the bible, therefore making religion a key instrument of secondary socialisation. He also believes that society divides the world into the ‘sacred’ and the ‘profane’, with the sacred relating to religion; such as rituals, practices and objects, and the profane relating to anything non-religious. This explanation was criticized by Worsley as he believed that Durkheim gave no sharp division between what is seen as ‘sacred’ and ‘profane’. He was also criticized by Mestrovic, who says that in modern times, with increasing diversity in society the collective conscience is now fragmented, therefore showing that religion does not benefit society in this way. Durkheim’s theories were based on his research of Australian Aboriginal tribes, thinking that this represented religion in its most basic form, believing that their worshipping of the totems was essentially the worship of society itself. From this research Durkheim was criticized for the fact that these were small-scale pre-literate societies and...

Similar Essays