Definitions [11]
Definition: Taboo
- Radcliff- Brown opined taboo is one of the various social mechanisms by which social order and stability can be maintained.
Definition: Rituals
- D.N. Majumder and T.N. Madan observed, "Ritual consists in the observance, according to a prescribed manner, of certain actions designed to establish liaison between the performing individual and the supernatural power, or powers".
Definition: Religion
- Tylor defined Religion as "Religion is the belief in supernatural beings'.
- According to Durkheim "religion at its most profound level means society's worship of itself"
- Malinowski defined religion taking a functional position, 'Religion is a mode of action as well as a system of belief and a sociological phenomena as well as a personal experience."
- Clifford Geertz in his essay 'Religion as a cultural system' gave an elaborate definition: "Religion is a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long lasting moods and motivation in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an area of factuality that the mood and motivations seem uniquely realistic."
Definition: Totemism
- “Totemism implies a tribal social organisation of the sib or clan pattern which is associated with a form of supernaturalism consisting of some typical attitude towards animals, plants or some other natural objects.”
Definition: Secularism
- According to George Jacob Holyoake, "The hard secularist considers religious propositions to be epistemologically illegitimate, warranted by neither reason nor experience".
- Harvey Cox elaborates, "The world looks less and less to religious rules and rituals for its morality or its meanings. For some, religion provides a hobby, for others a mark of national or ethnic identification, for still others an aesthetic delight. For fewer and fewer does it provide an inclusive and commanding system of personal and cosmic values and explanations."
Definition: Moral
- According to P. Gisbert, moral code is 'that body of rules or principles concerned with good and evil as manifested to us by conscience'.
Definition: Morality
- “Morality can be defined as a set of values or psychological adaptations to control self interest to get the best out of a group life.”
Definition: Beliefs
- According to Durkheim, religion consists mainly of beliefs and rites related to sacred things.
- Primitive religions are based on belief in an impersonal, invisible, and unknown power.
- The idea of this power varies from group to group and culture to culture.
- Many tribes believe in life forces, gods with human form, or ancestors living in nature like stones, rivers, and trees.
- Beliefs cannot be scientifically proved and are maintained through rituals and customs in society.
Definition: Animism
- He believed religion originated and was maintained on the beliefs of sour, ghosts, ancestral spirit and some more things which are imagined and illusioned without much real rationality, in them. And he named this as 'ANIMISM'.
Definition: Fetishism
- “If a particular natural object is imaginatively attached with some supernatural power and an individual has faith in it directly, this type of association is known as fetishism.”
Definition: Communalism
- The term Communalism is commonly used to mean fight between more than one community mainly due to strong differences in religious faith and understanding.
Key Points
Key points: Rituals
- Rituals are the practical actions of religion, performed in a prescribed manner.
- According to D. N. Majumder and T. N. Madan, rituals create a link between humans and supernatural powers.
- Rituals involve actions related to sacred things, while beliefs explain their meaning.
- Tribes perform rituals like Dhulla Puja and worship of Gram Thakur for health, peace, and prosperity.
- Beliefs and rituals support each other, and both are essential for understanding religion.
Key Points: Superstition
- Superstition is based on fear of the unknown and belief in supernatural forces.
- It often involves blind and repetitive practices without understanding their meaning.
- Superstition is not always religious; it may have social and cultural roots.
- It creates fear, loss of confidence, and negative feelings in society.
- Superstitions often lead to the formation of taboos and purification rituals in communities.
Key Points: Naturism
- Naturism is the belief that supernatural power is present in natural phenomena like the sun, thunder, rain and earthquakes.
- Changes in nature are believed to be expressions of God or supernatural forces.
- Max Müller was the chief exponent of naturism and linked the origin of religion to nature worship.
- Primitive people explained natural events by giving them human or divine qualities, leading to anthropomorphic beliefs.
- Practices like animal sacrifice and symbolic rituals were performed to please natural forces and bring benefits like rain and protection.
Key points: Totemism
- Totemism is closely related to clan organisation and helps in maintaining group identity.
- Scholars like Tylor and Durkheim connected totemism with religion and ancestor worship.
- Durkheim considered the totem as the collective symbol of society.
- Radcliffe-Brown explained totemism through ritual relations and ritual attitudes that regulate social order.
- Among tribes like Santhal, Munda and Ho, totems act as protectors of the clan and symbols of divine power.
Key Points: Taboo
- Taboo refers to certain behaviours, actions or objects that are socially forbidden to maintain social order.
- Protective Function – Some taboos protect weak groups like women, children and the elderly from harm and danger.
- Productive Function – Productive taboos are linked with agriculture and work efficiency, helping in better production.
- Prohibitive Function – Prohibitive taboos restrict certain actions to prevent pollution, danger, or social disorder.
- Social Control – Taboos act as a means of social control by enforcing discipline through fear of supernatural punishment.
Key Points: Secularism
- Freedom of religion – Secularism ensures equal freedom of religious belief and practice to all citizens, while also protecting the right to be free from religion.
- Equality and neutrality of the state – The state does not give special protection or privilege to any religion and treats all religions equally in public life.
- Democratic framework – Secularism provides a framework for democracy by ensuring equality in public services, freedom of expression, and peaceful coexistence of religions.
- Separation of religion from public institutions – Religion is separated from state institutions, law, education and governance, making it a personal matter.
- Decline of religious authority – Secularization leads to declining influence of religious institutions, symbols, and the idea of the sacred in social life.
Key Points: Nation of Morality
- Morality means rules of behaviour that society approves and expects people to follow.
- Moral code is related to good and evil, and it works through a person’s conscience.
- Being morally good is different from being successful, because money or career alone does not make a person good.
- Morality exists in all societies, including primitive societies, in some form or the other.
- Primitive people had morals, but they did not have a well-organised or written moral system like modern societies.
Key Points: Morality and Religion
- Morality is closely connected with religion, as ideas of ‘should’ and ‘should not’ come from religious beliefs.
- Religious beliefs help in forming and maintaining moral codes in both primitive and modern societies.
- Good moral behaviour is believed to be rewarded by God, either in this life or in life after death.
- Moral codes can change with social change, and religions also adjust to new moral values (e.g. Protestantism, Brahmo movement).
- Religion and morality are different but related religion connects humans with supernatural power, while morality deals mainly with human social behaviour.
Key Points: Morality
- Morality consists of rules, values and codes of conduct followed by members of a society.
- Morality is used in two ways, descriptive (generally observed behaviour patterns) and normative (universally accepted human values).
- Morality helps individuals distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil.
- Moral codes are created within a social order to maintain solidarity and cooperation.
- Morality binds society through values, beliefs, commitments and norms.
Key Points: Social Control
- Social control refers to the methods used by society to regulate and guide individual behaviour.
- It operates through social norms, sanctions, conformity and socialization.
- Social control may be formal (law, punishment, state authority) or informal (customs, shame, ridicule, disapproval).
- It helps in preventing deviance and maintaining social order and stability.
- Social control establishes and maintains morality in society.
Key Points: Animism
- Animism is considered by E.B. Tylor as the earliest form of religion based on belief in soul and spirits.
- Primitive people believed that humans, animals, plants and natural objects possess a soul or life force.
- Experiences like dreams, death and hallucinations led to the idea of a double soul among early humans.
- The belief that the soul survives after death gave rise to ancestor worship.
- Animism formed the basic foundation for early religious beliefs and rituals.
Key Points: Animatism
- Animatism refers to the belief in an impersonal supernatural force present in all animate and inanimate objects.
- The term ‘Mana’ was coined by Codrington while studying the Melanesians to denote this invisible power.
- Marett developed the animatist theory, explaining mana as a force beyond the senses but expressed through physical effects.
- Unlike animism, animatism is not centred on souls or spirits but on a pervading life force in nature.
- Among tribes like the Ho and some North American tribes, this power is worshipped as Sing Bonga or Orenda.
Key Points: Fetishism
- Fetishism involves faith in material objects like feather, shell or bone believed to possess supernatural power.
- The object used is called a fetish and is believed to produce desired results like healing or rain.
- Fetishism is closely related to magic and belief in unexplained forces.
- The power of a fetish is judged by its efficacy, that is, how often it works successfully.
- Fetishism is based on direct personal faith in the object rather than organised religious belief.
Key Points: Functionalist Theories
- Malinowski considers religion as a device to secure mental and psychological stability in an individual’s life.
- Religion is made to bring about a readjustment between man and the supernatural in upset states of existence.
- Radcliffe-Brown feels religion is not a device to save individuals from his individual stress and strain rather than to assure social solidarity and homogeneity.
- Durkheim stresses the beliefs and rites and offers two important concepts viz. sacred and profane.
- According to Durkheim, religion is a part of social activities comprising right or wrong, good or evil and guiding the functions of the respective societies.
Key Point: Functions of Religion
- Social Cohesion – Religion unites people through shared beliefs, symbols, values and rituals, thereby strengthening social solidarity.
- Social Control – Religion promotes conformity by prescribing norms of right and wrong and regulating individual behaviour in society.
- Providing Meaning and Purpose – Religion helps individuals find meaning in life, suffering, birth, marriage and death, and gives a sense of purpose to human existence.
- Distinction between Sacred and Profane – Religion separates sacred from profane objects and practices, creating moral order and collective identity among members.
- Socialization – Religion contributes to socialization by transmitting moral values, traditions, customs and collective ideals from one generation to another.
Key Point: Dysfunction of Religion
- Religion often becomes a cause of social conflict, riots and wars in the name of faith.
- It legitimises social inequality by supporting the status quo and ruling classes.
- Religion may oppose scientific thinking and hinder social and scientific progress.
- Blind faith and fatalism encouraged by religion can lead to neglect of rational solutions.
- Religious dogmatism restricts freedom of thought and promotes superstition and discrimination.
Key Points: Characteristic features of Communalism
- Origin in plural society – Communalism emerges from interaction and competition among religious communities over rights, resources and identity.
- Leads to violence and riots – It often results in fanaticism, riots, killings and loss of social trust, justified in the name of religion.
- Political manipulation – Communalism is frequently engineered or exploited by political parties, factions and power-hungry leaders for electoral or political gain.
- Creation of an ‘enemy’ – It identifies an internal enemy, promotes mass hatred, dehumanisation and can justify genocide and large-scale violence.
- Destruction of democratic values – Communalism mobilises masses through slogans, suppresses rational thinking, denies coexistence and weakens democratic spirit.
Key Points: Causes of Communalism
- Sense of deprivation among minorities – Feelings of loss, insecurity and competition for rights in a democratic setup encourage communal identity and conflict.
- Political manipulation and leadership failure – Privileges, reservations, favouritism and deliberate involvement of political leaders promote inter-community tensions.
- Role of mass media – Sensational and biased reporting disturbs communal harmony and spreads communal feelings rapidly.
- International influence and weak governance – External support and weak governments allow communal forces to spread and intensify conflicts.
- Historical legacy of communal conflicts – Past domination, long-standing grievances and historical memories fuel revenge, violence and communalism.
Key Points: Fundamentalism
- Reaction against modern change – Fundamentalism emerges as a defence of religion against urbanization, secularization and industrialization.
- Selective use of tradition and technology – Fundamentalists reshape selected religious traditions and use modern communication while opposing modern social values.
- Rigid worldview – Reality is divided into good/evil and right/wrong, leading to intolerance of pluralism and rejection of relativism.
- Literal interpretation of sacred texts – Religious texts are treated as divinely true and interpreted literally, often privileging one text over others.
- Charismatic leadership and strict discipline – Fundamentalist groups revolve around strong leaders and enforce strict rules on behaviour, dress, family life and morals.
