This document provides an overview of sociological perspectives on religion from several scholars including Durkheim. It discusses religion as a unified system of beliefs and practices related to sacred things. Durkheim viewed religion as an integrative force in society that provides meaning, purpose, and social integration. The document also examines functionalist, conflict, and feminist perspectives on religion. It describes the major world religions and components of religion such as beliefs, rituals, and religious experiences. Finally, it analyzes different forms of religious organization including ecclesiae, denominations, sects, and new religious movements.

1. Religion 15
3rd edition
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Sociology in Modules
Richard T. Schaefer

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The Sociological Approach to
Religion
• Durkheim and the Importance of
Religion
• Religion: unified system of beliefs and
practices relative to sacred things
(Durkheim)
– Collective act
– Includes many forms of behavior in which
people interact with others

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Durkheim and the Importance
of Religion
• Sacred: elements beyond everyday life that
inspire awe, respect, and even fear
• Profane: includes the ordinary and
the commonplace
• Secularization: religion’s influence on social
institutions diminishes
• Sociologists study religion through:
– Norms and values of religious faiths
through their substantive beliefs
– The social functions religion fulfills

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Sociological Perspectives
on Religion
• Manifest functions: open and stated
functions; religion defines the spiritual
world and gives meaning to the divine
• Latent functions: unintended, covert, or
hidden functions; might include providing
a meeting ground for unmarried members

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The Integrative Function
of Religion
• Durkheim viewed religion as an integrative
force in human society
– Gives meaning and purpose to lives
– Offers ultimate values and ends
– Strengthens social integration
– Integrative power seen in work with
immigrant groups
– Can be dysfunctional

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Religion and Social Support
• Religion’s emphasis on divine and
supernatural allows us to “do something”
about calamities we face
– Encourages people to view personal
misfortunes as relatively unimportant
– Religious function of social support also
apparent in people’s use of social media

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Religion and Social Change
• The Weberian Thesis
– Protestant ethic: followers of Protestant
Reformation emphasized a disciplined work
ethic, this-worldly concerns, and a rational
orientation for life
– “Spirit of capitalism” has emerged as
generalized cultural trait

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Religion and Social Change
• Liberation Theology
– Liberation theology: use of a church in
a political effort to eliminate poverty,
discrimination, and other forms of injustice
from a secular society
– May be dysfunctional

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Religion and Social Control:
A Conflict Perspective
• Marx: religion impeded social change
– People focus on other-worldly concerns
– Religion’s promotion of social stability only
helps to perpetuate patterns of social
inequality
– By inducing a “false consciousness” among
disadvantaged, religion lessens the possibility
of collective political action

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Feminist Perspective
• Theorists have stressed fundamental role
women play in religious socialization
– Women generally take subordinate role
in religious governance
– Women play vital role as volunteers, staff,
and educators
– In U.S., women more likely than men to be
affiliated with religion

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Table 45-1: Sociological Perspectives on Religion

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World Religions
• About 89% of world’s population adheres
to some religion
– Christianity largest, Islam second largest
– Judaism forms historical foundation for
Christianity and Islam
– Hinduism embraces number of gods
and reincarnation
– Buddhism developed as reaction against
Hinduism; uses meditation to overcome
selfish cravings

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Table 46-1: Major World Religions

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Components of Religion
• All religions have certain elements in
common, expressed in distinctive manner
of each faith
– Religious beliefs
– Religious rituals
– Religious experience

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Belief
• Religious beliefs: statements to which
members of a particular religion adhere
– Fundamentalism: emphasizes doctrinal
conformity and literal interpretation of
sacred texts
• Found worldwide
– Spirituality not as strong in industrialized
nations as in developing nations
• U.S. an exception

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Ritual
• Religious rituals: practices required or
expected of members of a faith
– From simple to elaborate: saying grace;
canonizing a saint
– For Muslims, the hajj
– In recent decades, participation in religious
rituals has tended to hold steady or decline

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Experience
• Religious experience: feeling or
perception of being in direct contact with
ultimate reality or of being overcome with
religious emotion
– Being born again

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None of the Above:
The Nonreligious
• Between 1990 and 2008 the number of
Americans who identified as having no
religious affiliation doubled
– Mostly attributed to decision not to affiliate
with organized religion

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Table 46-2: Components of Religion

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Figure 46-1: Religious Participation in Selected Countries

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Religious Organization
• Four Basic Forms of Organization
– Ecclesiae
– Denomination
– Sect
– New religious movement, cult

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Religious Organization
• Ecclesiae
– Ecclesia: religious organization claiming to
include most or all members of a society;
recognized as national or official religion
• Denominations
– Denomination: large, organized religion not
officially linked with state or government

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Religious Organization
• Sects
– Sect: relatively small religious group that
broke away from some other religious
organization to renew original vision of faith
– Fundamentally at odds with society; do not
seek to become established national religions
– Established sect: out-growth of a sect that
remains isolated (Yinger)

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Religious Organization
• New Religious Movements or Cults
– New religious movement (NRM) or cult:
small, secretive religious group that
represents either a new religion or a major
innovation of an existing faith
– Similar to sects
– Tend to be small
– Viewed as less respectable than more
established faiths

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Comparing Forms
of Religious Organization
• Ecclesiae, denominations, and sects
best viewed as types along a continuum
• From individual perspective, religion
and spirituality remarkably fluid
– Rapid rise of electronic church
– Many people shop online for church or faith

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Table 47-1: Characteristics of Ecclesiae,
Denominations, Sects, and New Religious Movements

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Social Policy and Religion:
Religion in the Schools
• Controversy over teaching of theories
about the origin of humans and the
universe
• Mainstream scientific thinking: humans
evolved over billions of years; universe
came into existence 15 billion years ago
• Creationism: holding to biblical account of
the creation of humans and the universe
some 10,000 years ago

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Social Policy and Religion:
Religion in the Schools
• Looking at the Issue
– Issue goes to heart of First Amendment
provisions regarding religious freedom
– Engle v. Vitale, 1962: prayer in New York
schools unconstitutional
– Intelligent design (ID): idea that life is so
complex it could only have been created by
intelligent design
• Federal judge: ID is “a religious belief”

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Social Policy and Religion:
Religion in the Schools
• Applying Sociology
– Supporters of school prayer:
• Supreme Court has driven too big a wedge
between church and state
• Prayer can provide socialization and spiritual
guidance
– Opponents of school prayer:
• Through school prayer, religious majority may
impose specific viewpoints onto religious minorities

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Social Policy and Religion:
Religion in the Schools
• Initiating Policy
– Most initiatives and lobbying occur at state
and local level
– Supreme Court has taken a hard line
– Debate still strong and ongoing
– Critics worry fundamentalist activism may
lead to sectarian religious control of public
education

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47-1: Mormons: A Controversial
Denomination
– Mormons are not supposed to drink
alcohol, soft drinks, coffee, or tea.
What aspects of your own religious
faith are sometimes observable to
others?
– Do you have any reservations about
a Mormon becoming president of the
United States? If so, on what grounds?
Research Today

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47-2: Wicca: Religion or
Quasi-Religion
– Do you know anyone who practices
Wicca? If so, describe the person’s
practices?
– Do you think that Wicca should be
considered a religion? Why or why
not?
Research Today