Religion is a social institution which is present in all societies and provides the basis for any society's belief system. From Animism & Totemism to Atheism & Theism (mono- and poly-), human societies have always had some form of religious belief system in place to help guide them through their existence in this world. This special institution is embedded in that area of any social structure known as culture, from which any society's set of beliefs, values, and norms originates. Religion serves many functions for a society, the most basic being an understanding of the meanings of life and death. Where do we come from? Why do you live? Why do we die? Is there life after death? These types of questions have plagued humans since the dawn of time and all religions of the world have some belief system in place to provide answers to these questions. Of course, from a sociological standpoint, Religion is much more than an institution providing answers to these questions. To gain an understanding of the scope of the Sociology of Religion, we must explore the works of several Sociologists and any discussion of the Sociology of Religion would not be complete without first examining the works of Durkheim, Marx, and Weber.
Emile Durkheim, the French Sociologist of the 19th century, examined Religion from a strict positivistic approach and identified several common attributes within all Religions. In his famous work, The Elementary Forms of Religion, Durkheim not only defined Religion, but he dissected it to reveal many components that are within all world religions. The most basic aspect of all religions is that they are all based on an interpretation of the world of the sacred, those things not of this world which inspire a sense of awe or reverance amongst humans, relative to worldly things, called the profane. Further, he identified the importance of ritual or rites within all religions. In his analysis of Religion, Durkheim brought forth a solid foundation for the study of Religion and opened the door for other Sociologists to examine this important social institution in ways that had never been done before.
Karl Marx, of course, took a different approach in his analysis of Religion. Where Durkheim examined the functions and more positive contribution of Religion to society, Marx focused more on the inequalities and oppressive nature of Religion. It was Marx, after all, who made the bold procalamation that Religion is the opiate of the masses, meaning quite simply that Religion was an illusion created by the Capitalists to keep the Workng Class oppressed as they looked for salvation in the afterlife, rather than liberation in the worldly life.
Max Weber, as he was and is famous for, took an entirely different approach than did Durkheim and Marx when examining Religion. Where Durkheim and Marx focused on defining Religion objectively, Weber felt that Religion can only be understood subjectively. Religion then is a subjective experience which cannot be clearly defined as Durkheim and Marx claimed. This position of Weber's is clearly illustrated in his Sociology of World Religions.
Aside from these three early founders, several contemporay Sociologists have examined Religion. Perhaps the two most famous of these are Peter Berger and Robert Bellah. In Berger's Protestantism & The Quest for Certainty, he discusses secularization, pluaralism, societal uncertainty, and certainty found in the Protestant Bible. Bellah in turn discusses the Church as a defining community and Church Identity, respectively, in his two articles Religious Pluaralism & Religious Truthand Post-Traditional Discipleship.
From Durkheim, Marx, and Weber to Berger and Bellah, Sociologists have analyzed Religion and defined many types, forms, and concepts of Religion. Amongst the types that warrant further discussion are Church, Sect, and Cult; the forms include Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity; concepts are Faith, Religiosity, Fundamentalism, Secularization, and Civil Religion, all of which can be found on my Sociology of Religion Definition Page.
