Sociological Perspectives on faiths distinguish between certain

transcending events and the everyday

Religion world. He referred to those realms as the
Source: Shaefer, R. (2016). Sociology in sacred and the profane.
modules, 3rd ed. McGraw-Hill Education.
The sacred encompasses elements beyond
Religion plays a major role in people’s lives,
everyday life that inspire awe, respect and
and religious practices of some sort are
even fear.
evident in every society. That makes
 People become part of the sacred
religion a cultural universal, along with
realm only by completing some
other common practices or beliefs found in ritual, such as a prayer or sacrifice.
every culture.  Because believers have faith in the
sacred, they accept what they
Durkheim and the Importance of Religion
cannot understand.
The profane includes the ordinary and
If a group believes that it is being directed
commonplace. This concept can be
by a “vision from God,” sociologists do not
confusing, however, because the same
attempt to prove or disprove the revelation.
object can be either sacred or profane,
Instead, they assess the effects of the
depending on how it is viewed.
religious experience on the group. What
sociologists are interested in is the social
When religion’s influence on other social
impact of religion on individuals and
institutions in a society diminishes, the
institutions. process of secularization is said to be under
way. During this process, religion will
According to Durkheim, religion is a “unified
survive in the private sphere of individual
system of beliefs and practices relative to
and family life. It may even thrive on a
sacred things.” In his view, religion involves
personal level. But at the same time, other
a set of beliefs and practices that are
social institutions—such as the economy,
uniquely the property of religion, as
politics, and education—maintain their own
opposed to other social institutions and
sets of norms, independent of religious
ways of thinking. He argued that religious
guidance.

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE Emphasis

Religion as a source of social integration and unification.
Functionalist Religion as a source of social support for individuals.

Religion as a potential obstacle to structural social change.

Conflict Religion as a potential source of structural social change.

Religion as an instrument of women’s subordination, except for their role

Feminist in religious socialization.

Interactionist Individual religious expression through belief, ritual, and experience.

FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE
Integrative Function of Religion
Religion is an integrative force in
human society.
Durkheim: How can human societies be
held together when they are generally
composed of individuals and social groups
with diverse interests and aspirations?
Yes. Religious bonds often transcend
these personal and divisive forces.
Religion provide a “social glue.” Religion
gives meaning and purpose to people’s lives.
It offers certain ultimate values and ends to
hold in common. This may be subjective
and not always accepted, these values and
ends help society to function as an
integrated social system.
This integrative power can be seen too, in
the role that churches, synagogues, and
mosques have traditionally played and
continue to play for certain groups.
There are instances when religious loyalties
are dysfunctional. They can contribute to
tension and conflict between groups or
nations, or even within a society.
Religion and Social Support
Through religion’s emphasis on the
divine and the supernatural, it allows
people to “do something” about the
adversities they face.
Some faiths allow its adherents to offer
sacrifices or pray to a deity in the belief that
such acts will change their earthly condition.
On a basic level, religion encourages people
to view personal adversities as relatively
unimportant as compared to a broader
perspective of human history—or even as
part of an undisclosed divine purpose.
The religious function of social support is
also apparent on people’s use of social
media. Religious organizations are turning
to Twitter and Face book to strengthen
their connections with their followers and
provide them with social support.
Religion and Social Change
Weberian Thesis:
When someone seems driven to
work and succeed, it is often attributed to
the Protestant work ethic to that person.
The term comes from the writing of Max
Weber, who carefully examined the
connection between religious allegiance
and capitalist development.
Weber noted that in European nations with
both Protestant and Catholic citizens, an
overwhelming number of business leaders,
owners of capital, and skilled workers were
Protestant. In his view, this fact was not a
coincidence. Weber pointed out that the
followers of John Calvin (1509-1564), a
leader of the Protestant Reformation,
emphasized a disciplined work ethic, this-
worldly concerns, and a rational orientation
to life that have become known as the
Protestant work ethic. One by-product of
the Protestant work ethic was a drive to
accumulate savings that could be used for
future investment.
Liberation Theology
Sometimes the clergy can be found
at the forefront of social change. In the case
of religious activists, especially in the
Roman Catholic Church, support liberation
theology—the use of a church in a political
effort to eliminate poverty, discrimination,
and other forms of injustice from a secular
society.
Advocates of this religious movement
sometimes sympathize with Marxism. Many
believe that radical change, rather than
economic development in itself, is the only
acceptable solution to the desperation of
the masses in impoverished developing
countries.
Activists associated with liberation theology
believe that organized religion has a moral
responsibility to take a strong public stand
Religion and Social Control: A Conflict
Perspective
Marx: Religion is the opium of the people.
According to Karl Marx, religion
impeded social change by encouraging
oppressed people to focus on otherworldly
concerns rather than their immediate
poverty or exploitation. He described
religion as an opiate that was particularly
harmful. Religion often drugged the masses
into submission by offering a consolation
for their harsh lives on earth: the hope of
salvation in an ideal afterlife. Religion’s
promotion of social stability only helps to
perpetuate patterns of social inequality.
The dominant religion reinforces the
interests of those in power.
Marx and other conflict theorists argue that
whatever extent religion actually does
influence social behavior, it reinforces
existing patterns of dominance and
inequality. Religion keeps people from
seeing their lives and societal conditions in
political terms.
Marxists suggest that by inducing a “false
consciousness” among the disadvantaged,
religion lessens the possibility if collective
political action that could end capitalist
oppression and transform society.
Feminist Perspective
Generally, women take a subordinate role
in religious governance. Most faiths have a
long tradition of exclusively male spiritual
leadership. Since most religions are
patriarchal, they tend to reinforce men’s
dominance in secular as well as spiritual
matters. Women do play a vital role as
volunteers, staff, and religious educators,
but even today, religious decision making
and leadership typically fall to the men.
ooooo
COMPONENTS OF RELIGION
All religions possess certain elements in
common, yet those elements are expressed
in the distinctive manner of each faith
(Schaefer, 2016).
Religious beliefs, religious rituals, and
religious experience all help to define what
is sacred and to differentiate the sacred
from the profane.
 RELIGIOUS BELIEFS are statements to
which members of a particular religion
adhere.
- Fundamentalism – may be defined
as an emphasis on doctrinal
conformity and the literal
interpretation of sacred texts.
- Fundamentalists vary immensely in
their behavior. Some stress the need
to be strict in their own personal
faith but take little interest in broad
 social issues. Others are watchful of Statement Creation
societal action, such as governmental to which account
policies, that they see as conflicting members of
with fundamentalist doctrine. a particular Sacred
religion characters
 RELIGIOUS RITUALS are practices adhere or people
required or expected of members of a
faith. Rituals usually honor the divine
power(s) worshiped by believers; they Practice Worship
also remind adherents of their religious required or
duties and responsibilities. expected of Prayer
Ritual
 Rituals and beliefs can be members of
interdependent; rituals generally a faith Singing or
affirm beliefs. chanting
 Religion develops distinctive
norms to structure people’s
behavior. There are even Feeling or Born-again
sanctions attached to religious perception experience
rituals. of being in
 Religious rituals may be simple or direct Communion
elaborate. contact with with holy
 From an interactionist the ultimate spirit
perspective, these rituals serve reality (such
Experience
as important face-to-face as a divine
encounters in which people being) or of
reinforce their religious beliefs being
and their commitment to their overcome
faith. with
religious
 RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE refers to the emotion.
feeling or perception of being in direct
contact with the ultimate reality, such as
a divine being, or of being overcome
with religious emotion.

Summing Up
Element Definition Examples
Belief