Why religion? [View all]

[guillaumeb]

From the article:

The structural-functional approach to religion has its roots in Emile Durkheim’s work on religion. Durkheim argued that religion is, in a sense, the celebration and even (self-) worship of human society. Given this approach, Durkheim proposed that religion has three major functions in society: it provides social cohesion to help maintain social solidarity through shared rituals and beliefs, social control to enforce religious-based morals and norms to help maintain conformity and control in society, and it offers meaning and purpose to answer any existential questions.

To read more:

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-sociology/chapter/the-functionalist-perspective-on-religion/

I was first introduced to Durkheim in a theology course at University. One part of reading in theology is to examine the why of things.

Why do humans self-organize into tribes, groups, nations, and other groups?


Religion, like every other aspect of tribalism, has the function of furnishing a group identity. And, like all human organizations, hat group identity can and does lead to positive and negative behaviors.

So when I read a comment in the vein of: "if only we could eradicate religion", I wonder exactly what the commenter feels is the point that is being made.