![]() They think it is God’s will that they are poor, either because he is testing their faith in him or because they have violated his rules. But people who are religious, he said, tend to view their poverty in religious terms. To do so, he said, they needed first to recognize that their poverty stemmed from their oppression by the bourgeoisie. ![]() Marx repeatedly stressed that workers needed to rise up and overthrow the bourgeoisie. By this he meant that religion, like a drug, makes people happy with their existing conditions. This view is partly inspired by the work of Karl Marx, who said that religion was the “opiate of the masses” (Marx, 1964). Religion has all of these benefits, but, according to conflict theory, it can also reinforce and promote social inequality and social conflict. Black churches in the South also served as settings in which the civil rights movement held meetings, recruited new members, and raised money (Morris, 1984). and other civil rights activists to risk their lives to desegregate the South. Religious beliefs motivated Martin Luther King Jr. Religion played a central role in the development of the Southern civil rights movement a few decades ago. We return to this function later.Ī final function of religion is that it may motivate people to work for positive social change. Religiosity also apparently promotes better physical health, and some studies even find that religious people tend to live longer than those who are not religious (Moberg, 2008). Many studies find that people of all ages, not just the elderly, are happier and more satisfied with their lives if they are religious. ![]() Religious faith and practice can enhance psychological well-being by being a source of comfort to people in times of distress and by enhancing their social interaction with others in places of worship. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the Ten Commandments are perhaps the most famous set of rules for moral behavior.Ī fourth function of religion is greater psychological and physical well-being. Religion teaches people moral behavior and thus helps them learn how to be good members of society. Religion is an agent of social control and thus strengthens social order. Second, the communal practice of religion, as in houses of worship, brings people together physically, facilitates their communication and other social interaction, and thus strengthens their social bonds.Ī third function of religion is related to the one just discussed. ![]() First, it gives people a common set of beliefs and thus is an important agent of socialization (see Chapter 4 “Socialization”). Religion strengthens social stability in at least two ways. This was one of Durkheim’s most important insights. Second, religion reinforces social unity and stability. That was certainly true, as we have seen, in prehistoric times, but even in today’s highly scientific age, much of life and death remains a mystery, and religious faith and belief help many people make sense of the things science cannot tell us. Many things in life are difficult to understand. Durkheim’s insights continue to influence sociological thinking today on the functions of religion.įirst, religion gives meaning and purpose to life. Much of the work of Émile Durkheim stressed the functions that religion serves for society regardless of how it is practiced or of what specific religious beliefs a society favors. ![]()
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