"Far from generating an agreed set of values that hold society together, religion has more often been the cause of conflict and division."

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"Far from generating an agreed set of values that hold society together, religion has more often been the cause of conflict and division."

Assess this claim in the light of sociological argument and evidence.

Religion is an incredibly important issue within society in general, it played an important part in the past and is still at the forefront of attention even today when some claim it is in recession. Key religious figures are often seen in the media, like the Pope or Archbishop of Canterbury because they hold a position of respect and their opinions are seen as important. Therefore this topic is one which is extremely emotive and can produce major results. This is why religion can be seen as a cause of conflict and social division while also being categorised as a form of cohesive measure. However these seemingly contradictory ideas stem from the fact that the role of religion is also undefined and not agreed on. This important debate within the sociological world has been a huge dividing point but despite copious research neither argument can produce substantial evidence to prove their claims.

The functionalist viewpoint is one which has led the way for the idea that religion is a tool which generates an agreed set of values that hold society together. Functionalism is one of the mainstream sociological viewpoints from the social systems perspective which believes that society is held together through consensus. This means that society is a unit of elements working together in order to maintain social order. This stems from the idea promoted by Durkheim that religion is a form of "social cement". This statement means that religion provides values which "hold society together". In this way he believed that religion created stability, identity and a "collective conscience" which kept social order and reduced social change, revolution and conflict. In this way the functionalist perspective does not believe that religion causes conflict and division. Within this viewpoint Parson's has also developed the opinion that religion allows social solidarity to take place by formally setting out the parameters of behaviour and social expectations. In this way religion is a measure of moral guidance and it generates consensus through an appropriate set of values and functions that hold society together.

However opposing this viewpoint is that of the Marxists who are the counter and the competing mainstream sociological viewpoint. Their beliefs stem from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles who came to the conclusion that society was structured on the basis that the ruling class exploit the proletariat and keep them in a position of sustainable poverty. Marx hypothesised based on his observations of the world that eventually the proletariat would become aware of their false class conscience and the ideological state apparatus that was holding their position and then they would rebel. This was called the polarization of the classes. Marx called religion the "opium of the masses", which meant that it was a part of the ideological state apparatus which helped to keep the proletariat in their exploited position. This demonstrates that the Marxists believe that religion acts as a temporary cohesive measure in that it helps to blind the workers from the truth but ultimately religion leads to conflict and division. Revolution is seen as "inevitable" by Marxists and religion is seen as disguising division within society. One major example of the Marxist perspective in practice comes from the idea that the Church is one of the biggest landowners in the country and most faiths are now run as businesses with the Vatican being a wealthy enterprise which funds and invests in other aspects of society. From a Marxist perspective this clearly shows the infiltration of capitalism into even the Church. New Religious Movements are often synonymously intertwined with merchandise like videos and ornaments and are run like businesses.
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There is also the view of the feminists which is a more modern structuralist interpretation. They believe that religion serves to maintain the patriarchal characteristics of society. Therefore they believe that the bible is written and promoted in a way which portrays women as inferior to men and the church itself is organised in a way which discriminates against and exploits women. This can be best seen from the fact that there was a major debate within the church as to whether to allow women to become priests because they were not seen as suitable to act as ...

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