Religion is a complex and multifaceted human phenomenon. It may include belief in a god or gods, ritual acts, a sense of community, moral codes, and mystical experiences. Religions differ widely from one another, and are usually associated with a particular culture or ethnic group. Moreover, people may have multiple religions and change them throughout their lives. These diverse factors make religion a challenging subject to study, but there is much interest in trying.
Some scholars argue that to define religion in terms of beliefs or even any mental states is too limited, and that religious phenomena are better understood by looking at the structures and disciplinary practices of religion. This approach is referred to as structuralism, and has its proponents among sociologists, historians, theologians, and philosophers.
Others take a more functional view of religion, and define it in terms of the role that it plays in a person’s life. This approach is called functional analysis, and it has been endorsed by the social psychologist Emile Durkheim. Durkheim defines religion as whatever system of practices unite a group of people into a moral community, whether or not those practices involve belief in unusual realities.
Despite the controversies and disputes over definitions, the study of religion has been enriched by the work of several important writers in the 19th century. These include German revolutionary socialist Karl Marx, French sociologist Emile Durkheim, and German ethnographer Max Weber. Their ideas shaped the modern study of religion.
These thinkers agreed that religion was a human activity, and that it is the product of human needs. They emphasized the significance of religion as a social structure that provides meaning and purpose to people’s lives, reinforces social stability, serves as an agent of social control, promotes psychological and physical well-being, and may motivate people to work for positive social change.
In addition, they argued that religions can be seen as protective systems that allow humans to explore their natures and the world around them in ways that would otherwise be impossible or dangerous. They are thus a necessary condition for survival and the development of human potentialities.
These ideas gave rise to a new theory of religion that is being tested by cognitive scientists, evolutionary psychologists, sociologists, and theologians. The ‘trance hypothesis’ suggests that, if it is correct, our ancestors were pretty jumpy creatures. They needed to be to avoid being preyed upon, and their brains and bodies were geared to the rapid processing of information that could save them from danger. This information included the sensation of having a body that could be inhabited by a disembodied spirit, and their perception of this’spiritual realm’ was an important component of their religions.