Religion is an important aspect of many societies and individuals’ lives. It has the potential to bring people together and to provide support during difficult times. However, it can also cause problems such as violence and discrimination. Sociological perspectives help explain how and why religion has these effects.
Some people use the term religion to refer to a belief in a transcendent reality, while others apply it to a set of moral values or beliefs about the world around us. It may be helpful to think of religion as a social construct, which means it is something that people build themselves through a combination of thoughts and actions. A central aspect is a community of believers that shares similar values and practices. A person’s religion may involve devotion to a particular god or deity, adherence to a code of behavior, and the pursuit of certain goals such as forgiveness, peace, and spiritual growth.
There have been numerous attempts to analyze religion through the lens of sociology. Most of these approaches have been “monothetic” in that they seek to identify a property that defines a religion. This approach can lead to a view of religion that treats different religious systems as mere variations on the same theme, rather than as unique and distinct.
Other scholars have used a “polythetic” approach, in which the concept of religion is understood as a multidimensional complex. For example, Christian theologians have traditionally analyzed their way of life by considering three dimensions: fides, fiducia, and fidelitas. These are akin to what Ninian Smart called the anatomical model of church, state, and society.
These polythetic approaches can be useful because they recognize that the properties that define a religion are interrelated and sometimes mutually exclusive. This contrasts with monothetic definitions, which often fasten onto just a few properties that are common to all religions. In addition, polythetic definitions can avoid the ethnocentric bias of monothetic definitions by recognizing that there is no single property that distinguishes a religion from other religions.
In the last several decades, another way of analyzing religion has emerged that is based on functions rather than substantive characteristics. This approach can be described as functionalist, and it has become popular in the social sciences. A functionalist analysis of religion takes into account the positive and negative consequences that a religion can have for its followers and for a society as a whole.
For example, a functionalist might note that religiosity is associated with a greater sense of moral responsibility and an increased capacity to cope with stressful situations. This might be why some surveys have found that the poorest countries are the most religious, with 95% reporting that religion plays an important role in their daily lives. In contrast, the richest countries have 47% who say the same thing. The function of religion can be a complicated subject, but there is no doubt that it influences a person’s life in profound ways.
