Evolutionary approach influenced by Darwins

On the Origin of Species.

Religion Two main Theories Animism Naturism

Belief in spirits Idea of souls

Edward B. Taylor

Religion for Taylor, in the form of animism, originated to satisfy mans intellectual nature, meet his need to make sense of death, dreams and visions.

Belief that the forces of nature have supernatural power F. Max Muller Man personified nature The force of wind became the spirit of the wind, the power of sun became the spirit of the sun. Animism seeks the origin of religion in mans intellectual needs, naturism seeks it in his emotional needs.

Functionalist perspective Emile Durkheim The Elementary Forms of Religious Life Totemism Australian aborigines He argues that all societies divide the world into two categories, the scared, and the profane. Religion according to him is a unified system of beliefs and practices related to sacred things, that is to say things set apart and forbidden.

For Durkheim by worshipping god, men are in fact worshipping society. Society is the real object of religious veneration. He gives importance to collective worship. Religion strengthens the unity of the group. Promotes social solidarity.

Illusion

Religion an opium of masses. Religion does nothing to solve the problem, it is simply a misguided attempt to make life more bearable. Engels argues that, Christianity was originally a movement of oppressed people; it first appeared as the religion of slaves and emancipated slaves, of poor people deprived of all rights, or peoples subjugated or dispersed by Rome.

Religion makes poverty tolerable by offering a reward for suffering and promising redress for injustice in the afterlife. It acts as an mechanism of social control, by providing explanations and justification for social situations, religion distorts reality. Produces False class consciousness. Ruling class adopt religious belief to justify their position both for themselves and others. Eg. The caste system in India justifies Hindu religious belief.

Religion does not always legitimate power. It is simply an expression of alienation or a justification of privilege. Hence religion a part of the superstructure of society.

The Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism Weber examines the relationship between rise of certain forms of Protestantism and the development of Western industrial capitalism. He argues that spirit of capitalism is not simply a way of making money, but a way of life which has ethics, duties and obligations.

Weber was more interested in how each religion has different principles Eg. The ideology of Protestantism preceded the development of Western Capitalism Protestantism gives importance to work.(work is worship) Attacked time wasting, idle gossip etc. Condemned entertainment.

Religion can be defined as a system of belief and practices by which a group of people interprets and responds to what they feel is supernatural and scared.

Ecclesia State Church which accepts state support and sanctions the basic cultural practices of the society. The sect and cult are at opposite poles form the ecclesia. The cult has little concern with governmental, educational or economic activities. It stresses ecstatic emotional experience of its members. The cult may stress on spiritual healing.

Men short hair Women have long hairwhy?

Manifest function A pattern of belief called doctrines Ritual which symbolize these doctrines and keep people aware of their significance. Behaviour norms Carrying out the rituals Reinforcing the behaviour norms leads to a complex pattern of worship.

Manifest function is to unite the community in human brotherhood; a latent function help divide the community by race and class.