FUNCTIONALIST

FUNCTIONALIST

Durkheim
1. Sacred + profane
  1. SCARED: forbidden items which create a sense of awe/fear
    1. Rituals and holy books are sacred and though differ in diff religions all are essential
  2. PROFANE: Items with no special significance
2. Toteism
  1. found in religions in their simplest form
  2. act as clans emblem which they worship (animals/plants)
    1. Members become utterly dependent on Totem and it creates solidarity
3. Collective conscience
  1. sacred symbols represent society's collective conscience of shared norms and values.
    1. regular rituals keep social integration
4. Cognitive functions
  1. Religion's fills intellectual capacities
    1. gives concept of time + cause
      1. eg, God creating the world at the beginning of time
5. EVALUATE
  1. Worsley
    1. ~ Evidence of Totenism is unsound. ~ No strict division between sacred + profane. ~ No proof that sacred + profane's discovered in all religions.
  2. Mestrovic
    1. Hard to apply theory to societies with many religions
Malinowski
1. Religion helps society by performing psychological functions in two ways
  1. The outcome is important but uncontrollable
    1. studied Islanders fishing in lagoons and in seas
      1. no rituals for lagoons as its safe
      2. 'Canoe magic' for seas as its uncertain people will return
  2. Times of life crisis
    1. Events such as birth + death create change
      1. Funeral's create solidarity + he says death is only religion for religious beliefs
2. EVALUATE
  1. Fails to explain why there are Christenings/weddings if funerals are only reasons for religion
Bellah
1. Study civil religions in America
  1. When there's many religions in a country, civil religion works as social glue
  2. Americanism unifies American society in a way separate religions are unable to
    1. rituals include pledging aligance to the flag, national anthem and "one nation under God"
    2. Even though Civil religion is an alternative, it performs the same functions.
2. EVALUATE
  1. Ignores how it can be supernatural beings which make religions distinctive
Parsons
1. Reiligon helps people cope with unforeseen events
  1. creates and legitimates society's norms and values by making them sacred
  2. answers ultimate questions
    1. what happens after death
    2. explains suffering as a test of faith
2. EVALUATE
  1. Fails to expalin how religion is used when there isn't unforeseen events

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