“The rich man in his castle, The poor man at his gate, He made them, high or lowly, And ordered their estate.”
This is saying that God determined social position and therefore it shouldn’t be challenged by anyone.
Religion promises life after death and therefore makes life worth living, those who don’t complain will be awarded in afterlife. This is almost rectifying injustice on earth and lastly offering hope of supernatural intervention to solve problems.
There are many cases of where religion has helped to combat oppression. In South America, Liberation Theology is one of the fastest growing and most popular interpretation of Christianity. It is the idea that people can be made free through religion. Until recently the catholic church was seen as an oppressive force, not helping out those who suffered under the injustices of some Latin American governments. However, more recently Roman Catholic priests have helped people to change the situation that they are in.
Functionalists also agree with the statement. They have a large approach on society and link it towards the human body, which includes religion as a main function in society. They believe religion performs vital functions to balance society and creates the basis of the norms and values of society. This therefore according to functionalists promotes social order.
Emile Durkheim suggested that religion was sacred and treated with respect, this creates a social community which give out morals. He believed that religion helped to promote social solidarity and that religious buildings, for example churches helped to bring the community together by making each member feel warm and welcome. He also talked about religion reinforcing the collective conscience; this is done by taking part in church services which renew their commitment to religion, moral beliefs and values. This shows that religion can control human behaviour.
Malinowski is also a functionalist. Whilst agreeing with some of Durkheim’s points he argued that religion does not reflect society as a whole. Malinowski argued that religions main function was to serve the people through times of social stress. He called these situations 'life crises'. Included in these were situations such as births, deaths and marriages. All major religions have ceremonies to cover these events, be they funerals, weddings, bar mitzvahs or baptism. These rituals and ceremonies helped people to cope with these life crisis. He then applied this theory on a wider scale, arguing that society suffered from these types of crisis, and religion was there to help guide society through these troubled times. He cited an example from a group of people called the Trobriand Islanders, a group of people he studied. Before the men went off to fish in dangerous waters, the Islanders always held a religious ceremony. Malinowski argued that this display of social solidarity, brought about by religion was a vital part of the continuing of society through times of stress.
Another contributor to the functionalist approach is Talcott Parsons. Parsons believed the role of religion served two functions. One is to provide guidelines and the other is to answer ultimate questions. Religion gives out guidelines which provide us with normal behaviour within society. It also helps us to understand certain situations and overcome them, for example people dying. Parsons said that religion helped people to understand why evil actions are undertaken and helps to bring people together.
Many sociologists would agree in saying that the main function of religion isn’t to provide people with a code of behaviour which regulates personal and social life, but it is a very important function. There are many other functions which are just as important.
