Functions of Religion in Social Systems Belief in spirits, gods, or unseen forces guides individual behavior in powerful ways and serves important functions for the social group. The teachings of religious belief systems often support many aspects of social life, such as structures of power and punishment. They also extend beyond the realm of organized religion into family life, ideas about health and healing, people's relationship with nature, and other areas of life. Supernatural belief systems have both intellectual and emotional functions. One can imagine the pre-scientific notion that natural forces such as the weather, the orbit of the sun, the changing of the seasons, or solar eclipses were caused by unseen supernatural forces. Our ancestors wanted an explanation for these kinds of natural phenomena. Anthropologists believe that supernatural beliefs provide a crucial ability to explain those aspects of life for which we have no logical answer. Religion also helps one cope emotionally with anxiety-provoking events beyond one's control, such as accidents, illness, or death. Prayer, sacrifice and sacrifice are ways in which a person can seek help from supernatural beings or forces. Active participation in ritual practices allows the sufferer to feel involved in achieving a positive outcome. For these reasons, belief in supernatural beings and forces can provide psychological and emotional relief. Religious belief systems generally provide support to both the individual and the social group. Even if the belief creates suspicion out of fear, it is comforting to know that others in the community experience the world in the same way. The roles that belief systems play vary widely, from teaching children what is right and wrong to providing reasons why things happen. Ways in which belief systems or religions provide support in social systems include the following: creating community, instilling values, renewing faith, providing reasons for life events, and solving problems. A. Creating Community Religious rites and rituals bring community members together so that individuals feel supported by groups. There are many types of rituals that bring cohesion to a group, whether performed with others or alone. Services (such as those in a temple, mosque, or church) allow individual members to physically meet regularly and form a community of believers. b. Instilling values Religious texts and oral histories teach ethics to mask behavior. In cultures without a written tradition, values are transmitted orally through poems, myths, legends, and stories. Practitioners can learn rules of moral behavior through these texts and stories. They also learn what penalties they can provide for non-compliance. Elements of religious education can come from written texts such as the Bibles of various religious traditions. C. Renewal of Faith Certain regular rituals will lift the spirits of the participants and induce a state of happiness and transcendence. This may include such elements as song, call-and-response, clapping, trance states or dance. For example, Islamic Sufi dancers of the Mevlevi sect in Turkey perform a form of movement meditation in which they spin in circles. Practitioners experience closeness to the divine by abandoning their self in a trance-like dance. d. Problem Solving Because many societies attribute the causes of events to supernatural beings and forces, they also seek help when problems need to be solved. Prayer is one of the most common ways that individuals ask for help, whether in a communal setting, individually, or even silently. Many ritual acts are performed to solve an immediate problem, such as asking for rain during a drought, consulting astrological charts for an auspicious day for marriage, or praying for the health of a loved one. Even mundane activities deserve divine cooperation, such as lighting a candle before taking an exam or touching a statue for good luck before driving a car.
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