Religion - Notes
Sociology
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Important Books
1. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life- Emile Durkheim
2. Sociology of Religion- Max Weber
3. Magic, Science and Religion- Bronislaw Malinowski
4. The Future of an Illusion- Sigmund Freud
Religion is concerned with shared beliefs, practices, morals, worldviews, texts, sanctified
places, prophecies, ethics and organizations that relate humanity to supernatural,
transcendental and spiritual elements.
It is the human response to those elements of the life of mankind which are beyond their
comprehension.
According to Maclver, “Religion as we understand the term implies a relationship not
merely between man and man but also between man and some higher power.”
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel defined religion as "the Divine Spirit becoming conscious
of Himself through the finite spirit."
Edward Burnett Tylor defined religion in 1871 as "the belief in spiritual beings".
He argued that narrowing the definition to mean the belief in a supreme deity or
judgment after death or idolatry and so on, would exclude many people from the
category of religion, and thus "has the fault of identifying religion rather with particular
developments than with the deeper the motive which underlies them". He also argued
that the belief in spiritual beings exists in all known societies.
In his book The Varieties of Religious Experience, psychologist William James defined
religion as "the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far
as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the
divine". The term divine James meant "any object that is godlike, whether it be a concrete
deity or not" to which the individual feels impelled to respond with solemnity and gravity.
Emile Durkheim states, “Religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relating to
sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden.”
According to Ogburn, “Religion is attitudes towards superhuman powers.”
J.M. Frazer believes that “Religion is a belief in powers superior to man which is believed
to direct and control the course of nature of human life.”
Malinowski defines religion as a “mode of action as well as a system of belief and a
sociological phenomenon as well as a personal experience.”
Thus, different scholars define religion according to their own view but it is very difficult
to agree upon a universally accepted definition because religion is a very complex
phenomenon.
Belief and rituals are two main component parts of religion. Beliefs involve
understanding of truth, rights and wrongs. Rituals are repeated behaviours based on
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understanding prescribed patterns of behaviour.
Some basic elements of religion are:
Belief in Supernatural Power: Every religion believes in some supernatural power
i.e. powers outside of man and the present world. The supernatural powers are
believed to influence human life and conditions.
Method of Salvation: Man needs some method by which he can attain salvation or
Nirvana or by which harmony between man and god will be re-established by the
removal of guilt or bondage. Every religion considers salvation as the ultimate aim
of life.
Procedure of Worship: It is another component of religion. Every religion has its
own specific procedure for worshipping.
Place of Worship: Every religion has its own definite place of worship in which its
followers offer their prayer to supernatural power.
Sacred And Profane
According to Durkheim, sacred is ideal and transcends everyday existence. It is
extraordinary, potentially dangerous and awe-inspiring. It refers to those collective
representations that are set apart by society, or that require special religious treatment.
Profane, on the other hand, is everything else, anything that is ordinary or mundane.
Profane embraces those ideas, practices or things that are regarded with an everyday
attitude of commonness, utility and familiarity.
Durkheim argues that religion happens when there is a separation between the sacred
and the profane.
Animism
Animism is the belief that spirits, apparitions, angels, or demons inhabit the earth. Either
good or bad, these spirits interact with and/or influence humans in a variety of ways. For
example, animists believe that malevolent spirits cause demonic possession, insanity, and
disapproved behaviour.
According to animism, the idea of the soul (anima) is central to religion. Hence the name
animism. According to E.B. Tylor, a primitive man hit upon the idea of the soul because of
an error. In his dreams, he walked about various places, engaged in various types of
activities and met his dead ancestors even while his body remained in one place.
He deduced from this experience that each individual has a double, another self, which
has the power to leave the body and travel to distant places. This double is distinguished
from the person in several respects.
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Naturism:
Naturism means the belief that the forces of nature have supernatural power. Andrew
Lang and Max Muller developed the theory of naturism.
Max Muller, a great Sanskrit scholar, strongly advocates that the most ancient form of
religious practice is naturism. Naturism, according to him, is primarily based on man's
sensory experience out of which logical deductions are primarily made.
It is through sensory organisms that man obtains the surfaced experience of reality on
the basis of which he makes logical deductions. The sensory experience further helps
man to distinguish animate from inanimate objects. Therefore, religion is primarily a
derivative of sensory experience. To them, religious embodiments are seen yet unseen,
observable yet unobservable. Naturalism is the worship of nature as supernatural or
transcendental.
Functionalist Perspective
Functionalists such as Durkheim or Parsons define religion by the functions it performs
for individuals or society. They believe that religion serves several functions in society.
Religion, in fact, depends on society for its existence, value, and significance, and vice
versa.
Substantive Perspective
Substantive definition of religion sees it as a belief in a supernatural power that is unable
to be scientifically explained. In other words, whether a belief can be considered religious
or not depends on the substance of what is believed. Religion requires a belief in God or
other supernatural beliefs.
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