Religion has been and still is a subject of great importance for commentators from different fields of thought within the social science, including disciplines such as consideration in sociological analysis in Marxist studies (Marshall, 1994). Despite the German thinker Karl Marx was one of the most famous sociological theorists who was concerned with this topic, religion was not the major issue of his sociological analyses. However; religion did not become a mainstream issue in sociological debates until the end of the nineteenth century, when major figures in sociological thought such as Emile Durkheim and Max Weber carried out classic studies on the subject. During recent decades, religion has become a major issue in sociological and political debates. This paper will analyze religion, using the theoretical approach of the three major sociological perspectives, Functionalism, Conflict, and Interactionism.
Weber and other experts were especially concerned with the role of religion as a generator of social change; they challenged the views of other theorists like Marx. Marx's theories offered a criticism of religion, stating that religion was a human creation, used by the ruling classes to manipulate the proletariat. In Marx's opinion, religion impedes social change.
[...] (1973) 'Emile Durkheim, his Life and Work: a Historical and Critical Study'. London: Allen Lane. Marshall, G. (ed.), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Sociology (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994). Offe, C. and S. Fuchs (2002) ‘A Decline of Social Capital?: The German Case', in Putnam, R. D. (ed.) (2002) “Democracies in Flux: The Evolution of Social Capital in Contemporary Society”. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Inc. Putnam, R. D. (2001) “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and the Revival of American Community”. New York : Touchstone (published by Simon & Schuster Inc.). [...]
[...] This function is to encourage social solidarity. Religious practices encourage the unity between the members of the society, and Durkheim (1912 / 1915) is focused relationship between the individual and the society. During religious rituals, 'the individual feels stronger' (Craib, 1997: 72) about his relationship with the society of which he or she is member. This promotes and encourages social cohesion (Durkheim, 1912 / 1915). Some experts have rejected Durkheim's theory about religion because he did not take into consideration the difference between simple religions, like totemism, and other more complex religions, like Christian religions. [...]
[...] This paper will analyse religion, using the theoretical approach of the three major sociological perspectives, Functionalism, Conflict, and Interactionism. Weber and other experts were especially concerned with the role of religion as a generator of social change; they challenged the views of other of theorists like Marx. Marx's theories offered a criticism of religion, stating that religion was a human creation, used by the ruling classes to manipulate the proletariat. In Marx's opinion, religion impedes social change. While Weber saw religious faith as the generator of rationality in Europe, Marx established that religious faith had only one purpose: to make the individual believe that human beings will be rewarded for their suffering. [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
