UCSP: Religion As A Social Institution

Religion:
Is it relevant in today’s world?
Angelica T. Lazaro
MS Sociology
Socio-Cultural Analysis II
What is Religion?
Religion as a unified system of beliefs and practices relative

to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden—
beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community
called a Church, all those who adhere to them.
Meriam Webster simply defined Religion as:

The service and worship of God or the supernatural
Commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
What is Religion?
Religion is “a system of beliefs, rituals, and

practices, usually institutionalized in one manner or
another, which connects this world with the beyond.
It provides the bridge that allows human to approach
the divine, the universal life force that both
encompasses and transcends the world” (Super and
Turley 2006, p.2)
Three elements in defining religion:
• Beliefs that some things are sacred
• Practices (rituals) centering on the things
considered sacred
• A moral community (a church) resulting from
a group’s beliefs and practices.
Types of Religious Groups
• Cult – is a new or different religion, whose teachings and practices

put it at odds with the dominant culture and religion.
• Sect – is larger than a cult. Its members still feel tension between
their views and the prevailing beliefs and values of the broader
society.
• Church – a religious group that is highly bureaucratized- probably
with national and international headquarters that direct the local
congregations. The Relationship with God has grown less intense.
• Ecclesia – the groups become so well integrated into a culture, and
so strongly allied with their government. The government and
religion work together to try to shape the society.
Sociological Theory
Elementary form of Religious Life
(1912)
Emile Durkheim
Humans and Religious
Thought
• Animism
• Polytheism
• Monotheism
Emile Durkheim (1858–1917)
• Was born on April 15, 1858, in Epinal, France.

• One of the classical sociologists in late 19th and
early 20th centuries and was a pioneer of
French sociology.
• Responsible for defending sociology as an
independent discipline from psychology.
• Some of his contributions in Sociology are The
Division of Labor in Society (1893), Suicide
(1897), and The Elementary Forms of Religious
Life (1912).
Elementary forms of Religious Life
Emile Durkheim was highly interested in

religion, probably because he was reared in a mixed-
religion family, by a Protestant mother and a Jewish
father. Durkheim decided to find out what all
religions have in common (Henslin, 2015:420).
Elementary forms of Religious Life
Durkheim has three main findings:
• That the world’s religions are so varied that they have no
specific belief or practice in common.
• That all religions develop a community centering on their
beliefs and practices.
• That all religions separate the sacred from the profane.
The Sacred and the Profane
Religion is the beliefs and practices that
separate the profane from the sacred and unite its
adherents into a moral community.
Sacred refers to all aspects of life Profane is the aspects of life that
having to do with the supernatural are not concerned with religion or
that inspire awe, reverence, deep religious purposes but, instead, are
respect even fear. part of the ordinary aspects of
everyday life
The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
• Religious Symbols
• Rituals
• Beliefs
• Religious Experience
Totemism
A religious system in which certain things,

particularly animals and plants, come to be
regarded as sacred and as emblems of the clan.
In totemism, three classes of things are
connected: the totemic symbol, the animal or plant,
and the members of the clan.
Totemism
As such, totemism provides a way to classify

natural objects that reflects the social organization
of the tribe.
Totemism is the religion, not of such and
such animals or men or images, but of an
anonymous and impersonal force, found in each of
these beings but not to be confounded with any of
them.
Functions of Religion
• Questions about Ultimate Meaning

What is the purpose of life? Why do people
suffer? Is there an afterlife?
• Emotional Comfort.
The answers that religion provides about ultimate
meaning bring comfort by assuring people that there is a
purpose to life, even to suffering.
• Social Solidarity
Religious teachings and practices unite believers into a
community that shares values and perspectives.
• Guidelines for Everyday Life.

Provide practical guidelines for everyday life. Values.
• Social Control.
Although a religion’s guidelines for everyday life usually
apply only to its members, nonmembers feel a spillover.
• Social Change.
Although religion is often so bound up with the
prevailing social order that it resists social change, religious
activists sometimes spearhead change.
Dysfunctions of Religion
Functionalists also examine ways in which religion is

dysfunctional, that is, how religion can bring harmful results.
• Religion as Justification for Persecution

Religion has been used to justify oppression and any
number of brutal acts.
Dysfunctions of Religion
• War and Terrorism

History is filled with wars based on religion—commingled
with politics.
Religion in the Age of Globalization
Peter L. Berger explain and summarized of thesis of secularization:

“Modernization necessarily leads to a decline of religion both
in society and in the minds of individual. Modernization drastically
replaces tradition with science based knowledge.
With secularization, religious beliefs cannot compete with the

intellectual credibility of both natural and social sciences. Religious
beliefs are made relative to one’s private belief (Lanuza, 2016)
Religion: Is it relevant in today’s world?
Religion is a social institution has a very powerful
impact on society the world. It provides the ultimate meaning
to human being’s quest for life meaning. The revival of religion
is facilitated by the growing interconnection of different
geographical regions through globalization. Globalization is
allowing religions to travel faster from one area to another.
Indeed, religion contributes in the globalization process since its
creation.
Religion as a public reason: Prospect and Limitations
Citizens should have a moral responsibility to justify their political
convictions independently of their religious ones (John Rawls).
Acknowledge the place of religion in the public sphere but confine

it only to informal deliberation and excludes it from
institutionalized one (Jürgen Habermas)
Theology, politics and the identity of a religious community are all

tied up with each other, as religious leaders and citizens apply and
reformulate their theologies in new political contexts (Darren
Walhof)
And I
THANK YOU
References
• Henslin, James M. Essentials of Sociology: a down-to-Earth Approach.

Pearson/Allyn & Bacon, 2006.
• Lanuza, Gerry M. & Raymundo, Sarah S. Understanding Culture,
Society, and Politics. Rex Book Store, 2016.
• Ritzer, George. Sociological Theory, Eighth Edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2011
• Abletis, John N. Excerpts from THE ELEMENTARY FORMS OF THE
RELIGIOUS LIFE: A STUDY IN RELIGIOUS SOCIOLOGY Emile
Durkheim, 2011
• Apostolic Exhortation Joy of the Gospel Evangelii Gaudium by Pope
Francis. Study and Reflection Guide. Daughters of St. Paul.

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Religion:

Is it relevant in today’s world?

Religion as a unified system of beliefs and practices relative

Meriam Webster simply defined Religion as:

Religion is “a system of beliefs, rituals, and

• Cult – is a new or different religion, whose teachings and practices

• Was born on April 15, 1858, in Epinal, France.

Emile Durkheim was highly interested in

A religious system in which certain things,

As such, totemism provides a way to classify

• Questions about Ultimate Meaning

• Guidelines for Everyday Life.

Functionalists also examine ways in which religion is

• Religion as Justification for Persecution

• War and Terrorism

Peter L. Berger explain and summarized of thesis of secularization:

With secularization, religious beliefs cannot compete with the

Acknowledge the place of religion in the public sphere but confine

Theology, politics and the identity of a religious community are all

• Henslin, James M. Essentials of Sociology: a down-to-Earth Approach.

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