The View that Religion Acts as a Conservative Force on...

The View that Religion Acts as a Conservative Force on Society Even though sociologists do not have a true definition of religion they believe that religion is a belief in the supernatural. Some sociologists believe that religion acts as a conservative force. A conservative force is something that prevents change within society and also maintains the status quo. Functionalist believes that religion is a conservative force. Durkhiem believes that everybody shares the same beliefs and values that are represented by sacred symbols. Durkhiem would argue that religion acts as a conservative force as it reinforces the collective conscious. Durkhiem would argue that as people worship in church they are†¦show more content†¦Malinowski a functionalist focuses on the psychological needs of individuals in times of stress. Malinowski believes religion provides people with meanings in times of life crisis for example death and funerals. Things such as funerals allow people to move on and minimise the disruption to society. He argues that the idea of heaven provides people with a meaning of life. This maintains the status quo as it allows people to get on with day to day life. Malinowski did a study of the Troiband Island and he argued people use religion in times of uncertainty. He found that when the people of the island went to out to fis h they felt safe when they fished in the lagoon they felt safe as they was close to home, However when they went to fish out in the sea where the survival rate was low they would pray to god to keep them safe. This shows that religion is a conservative force as it maintains the status quo because it allows people to forget their problems and carry on with their every day life. Parsons another functionalist would ague that religion provides answers to question that appear to be unanswerable, for example when villains seemShow MoreRelatedAssess the View That Religion Inevitably Acts as a Conservative Force in Society875 Words   |  4 PagesAssess the view that religion inevitably acts as a conservative force in society The main sociological theories all believe religion acts as a conservative force in society in a sense that religion helps keep things the way they are and keep everything stable. However some of these theories may be against the idea that religion acts conservative force for their own reasons. For example Feminism believes that religion acts as a conservative force nevertheless they are against it as they believeRead MoreIdentify And Briefly Explain Three Func1490 Words   |  6 Pagesand briefly explain three functions of religion (9 marks) Marxism believes it acts as the ‘opium for the exploited working class people’. 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