Essay on the Dysfunctions of Religion – Religion as a basic social institution of human society has been fulfilling certain positive functions no doubt. Its role in promoting social solidarity, as Durkheim has pointed out, and its need in providing inner individual peace and solace as Edward Sapir has pointed out cannot be undermined. By looking at this manifest positive functions of religion one should not jump to the conclusion that religion brings man only advantages.
Religion, on the contrary, has its own dysfunctional aspect also. It does certain disservices also. Sumner and Keller, Benjamin Kidd, Gillin, Karl Marx, Thomas F. O ‘dea and others have pin pointed the negative side of the functions or the dysfunctions of religion also.
According to Thomas F. O ‘Dea, one of the functionalists, the main dysfunctions of religion are as follows.
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1. Religion inhibits protests and impedes social changes:
Religion provides man emotional consolation and helps him to reconciliate himself with situations. In doing so, T.F. O’Dea remarks, religion inhibits protests and impedes social changes which may even prove to be beneficial to the welfare of the society.
All protests and conflicts are not always negative. Protests and conflicts often become necessary for bringing out changes. Some changes would certainly lead to positive reforms. By inhibiting protests and preventing changes religion may postpone reforms. This effect of religion can contribute to the buildup of explosive resentments which eventually result in revolution and in most costly and destructive changes.
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In fact, “In Europe and America the vigorous conflict of classes and other groups led to a better distribution of the national product, a more harmonious relationship of classes, a better control of the society over its environment, and a more stable and orderly society.” Religion often played a role in that history, to some extent inhibiting such conflict.
2. Hampers the adaptation of society to changed condition:
A religion can make norms of behaviour and can also sacralise the norms and values of society. Some of the norms which lose their appropriateness under changed conditions may also be imposed by religion.
This can “impede a more functionally appropriate adaptation of society to changing conditions.” Example: During the Medieval Period in Europe, the “Church refused to grant the ethical legitimacy of money-lending at interest, despite the great functional need of this activity in a situation of developing capitalism”.
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Even today, traditional Muslims face religio-ethical problems concerning interest-taking. Similar social conflict is evident in the case of birth control measures including abortion, in the Catholic world.
3. Religion increases conflict and makes the evolution of realistic solutions more difficult:
By performing its prophetic function religion may “provide standards of value in terms of which institutionalised norms may be critically examined and found seriously wanting”. But this function can also have its dysfunctional consequences. Religious criticism of the existing norms and values may become so unrealistic that it beclouds genuine issues.
The religious “demands for reform may become so Utopian that they constitute an obstacle in the working out of more practical action”. Religion may also set up standards that are untimely. Religion always seeks to see its demands as the will of God, and in that, it may impart extremism to the conflict that renders compromise impossible.
Example:
Because of religious convictions, the left-wing Protestant sects of the Reformation period became the victims of intolerance. Due to this intolerance some of these Protestants took some extreme positions that any compromise between them and the general society was actually impossible.
4. Impedes the development of new identities:
“In fulfilling its identity function religion may foster certain loyalties which may actually impede the development of new identities which are more appropriate to new situations.” Religious identification may prove to be divisive to societies. Religion builds deeply into the personality structures of people a strong animosity that makes them to oppose their opponents tooth and nail.
In the religious wars that followed Reformation this animosity (which was the result of religious identifications) was very much evident. Like the ideology of communism and nationalism, religion too provides for an element of identity which promotes inter-group conflicts by dividing people along religious lines.
5. Religion may foster dependence and irresponsibility:
Religion often makes its followers to become dependents on religious institutions and leaders instead of developing in them an ability to assume individual responsibility and self-direction.
It is quite common to observe in India that a good number of people prefer to take the advices of priests and religious leaders before starting some great ventures instead of taking the suggestion of those who are competent in the field.
However, it is difficult to assess the exact role of religion in hampering the sense of responsibility and self- dependence of an individual, without an appeal to his own values. Still it could be said that religion’s role with respect to individual development and maturation, is highly problematic. Other Dysfunctions
1. Conservative and Retards Progress:
Religion is said to be conservative. It is regarded as retrogressive and not progressive. Religion upholds traditionalism and supports the status quo. It is not readily amenable to change.
2. Promotes Evil Practices:
Religion in its course of development, has at times, supported evil practices such as-cannibalism, suicide, slavery, incest, killing of the aged, untouchability, human and animal sacrifice, etc. “There is hardly a vice which religion has not at one time or another actively supported.”
3. Creates Confusions, Contradictions and Conflicts:
Religion consists of some of inconsistencies. It has supported war and peace, wealth and poverty, hard work and idleness, virginity and prostitution. Religion has not offered any absolute standard of morality.
4. Contributes to Inequalities and Exploitation:
Religion perpetuates the distance between rich and the poor, the propertied class and property less class. More than that, as Marx said, religion has often been used as an instrument of exploiting the poor and the depressed class. Hence Marx calls religion as “the opium of the masses.”
5. Promotes Superstitious Beliefs:
Superstition is closely related to religion. Religion has promoted superstitious beliefs which have caused man more harm than good. Ex: the belief that evil spirits and ghosts cause diseases, the belief that God is responsible for the birth of children.
6. Religion Causes Wastes:
Sumner and Keller are of the opinion that religion often causes economic wastes. Ex.: Investing huge sums of money on building temples, churches, mosques, etc., spending much on religious fairs, festivals and ceremonies, spoiling huge quantity of food articles, material things, etc., in the name of offerings. It leads to waste of human labour, energy and time.
7. Religion Wrecks Unity:
Religion creates vast diversities among people. Religion not only brings people together but also keeps them at a distance. Wars and battles have been fought in the name of religion. Loot, plundering, mass killing, rape, arson and such other cruel treatments have been meted out to some people in the name of God and religion.
8. Religion Undermines Human Potentiality:
Religion by placing high premium on divine power and divine grace has made people to become fatalistic. By tracing the cause of all the phenomenon to some divine power, religion has undermined human power, potentiality. This adversely affected the creativity of man.
9. Religion Retards Scientific Achievements:
Science is often regarded as a challenge to religion. Religion has time and again tried to prevent the attempts of scientists from revealing newly discovered facts. It made Galileo to renounce his painstakingly established doctrines.
Similarly, it tried to suppress the doctrines of Darwin, Huxley and others. Thus religion has interfered with the free inquiry of scholars. Further, it has suppressed the democratic aspirations of the people.
10. Religion Promotes Fanaticism:
Faith without reasoning is blind. Religion has often made people to become blind, dumb and deaf to the reality. On the contrary, it has often made people to become bigots and fanatics. Bigotry and fanaticism have led to persecution, inhuman treatment and misery in the past.
It is clear from the above description that religion has its bright as well as the dark side on positive and negative functions. Religion as a social mechanism or phenomenon has been subject to human use and abuse in the past. Religion has been used to serve humanity and also abused to exploit people.
“Religion can sacralise finite ideas and provincial attitudes to an extent which inhibits further progress in the society’s knowledge of its environment and in man’s efforts to control nature.” The long conflict between science and religion is quite known in history.
