RELIGIOUS VIEWS AND FUNCTIONS

 RELIGION

According to Crapo, (2002) the anthropologists have found difficult to define the term religion in a common way; but they have agreed them all that there are major characteristics of global religion. Those characteristics includes beliefs in supernatural being, and supernatural power, symbolic expression of feelings and rituals performed by either individual or group for the purpose of influencing supernatural realm.

There are some anthropologists who tried to define Religion like Anthony FC Wallace, who defined  religion as belief and ritual concerned with supernatural beings, power and forces. It is one of the factor that may influences the  society transform its social structures. McGee (2004).

ANTHROPOLOGY

Its the study of human being and culture. It is one of the study that concerned with understanding others. May be in various forms like cultural  anthropology, biological anthropology, geological anthropology, linguistic anthropology and other. Anthropology is the scientific study of the diversity of humans, in their bodies and their behavior. Anthropology of religion is one of the aspect of anthropology that uses scientific approach of the diversity of human Religions. Eller, (2007).

ANTHROPOLOGISTS

The anthropologists, are the people who study the behavior, belief and lifestyle of people. Are the people who study more on human being and their characteristics; normally involve  collection of data through field works so as to know human beings well. Normally anthropologists asks  many questions like questions about religions, that influence us think about who and what we are as human beings. Example of those anthropologists are like Sir Edward Burnett Tylor a father of anthropology of religion, Clifford Geertz, Anthony F.C. Wallace, and others; but  normally do not concerned with evaluating the truth or falsehood religion, but how religion expresses the people’s life in the universe. Morris, (2005).

FUNCTIONS OF RELIGION ACCORDING TO ANTHROPOLOGISTS.

Religion has function of healing; one of the function of religion according to Anthropologists is healing the health problems and divines in the community. People uses their beliefs and rituals for the purpose of healing. This function supported by many cultural anthropologists, for instance  Anthony F.C Wallace the Canadian cultural  anthropologist,  argued that there are various kinds  religions and one of them is so called Shamanistic religion which refers as part-time religious practitioners uses religion to heal, problems of divine, usually on the behalf of a client. Tend to be practiced by spiritualists, faith healers, palm leaders and others. Wallace, (1956).

It gives meaning and purpose of life; religion has function of giving meaning and helps people to answer the big existential questions and also insists on purpose of people’s lives, thus people not living meaningless but purposely. Example, religion answer the question why do we die and what is human end will be so as to define the purpose of people’s lives. Also it gives answer to the question of “what is the origin of man?”, for instance some anthropologists  argues that religion helps to evaluates on the creation; but always some who follows ideas of  creationism on religion tend to gives their views. According to Brown, (2007:12) stated that “we do not know how God created, what processes He used, for God used processes which are not now operating anywhere in the natural universe. This is why we refer to divine creation, we can not discover by scientific investigation anything about the creative processes used by God ”. 

Motivate people to work for positive social change:  according to anthropologists religion influences people cooperates and share different ideas, thoughts, and other various things surrounding them. This is because it insists unit among people; hence due to several activities done by people at their dairy life makes people to have enough  relationship with each other, where by this relationship of  people promotes cooperation of people to work for positive social change in life.It is because when people work together there must occur changes or transformations that have positive results to the community or member of the community. Due to religions people cooperates economically, politically, and socially; religion  have the function of uniting people in various phenomenon especially due to beliefs and rituals that determine . McGee, (2004).

Religion helps to mediate tension between social roles and relationship; Anthropologists also views religions as an institutions for mediating tension between social roles and social systems. Many anthropologists like Wallace, Geertz, and other views religion as the to promotes stability of the society. For instance in any contradiction or conflicts in the community parties to solve that case may consider religion by emphasizing pariticipants to behave well on what religion says, due to that Anthropologists views religions as the subject of resolving various social problems and tells parties with conflicts what should do every day and what we practices. Kottak, (2004).

It maintain social solidarity and unity;  according to anthropologists religion has the function in shaping and promoting the community, especially through shared rituals which means an established pattern of behaviour through which a group of believers experienced the sacred. Through beliefs it easy to emphasizes the interdependence between individuals in the society which allows people to feel that they can enhance the lives of others and participating each and everything which are very important in the society due to their  beliefs. McGee, (2004).

It promotes psychological and physical well being of the people; anthropologists study human beings and their culture, views religion as the one of the cultural aspect that motivates cooperation and interaction of people of different contexts. According to Geertz (1973:90), stated that “religion establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting mood and motivations in people”. So due to Geertz’s view on religion, argues that it is the social aspect that gives information to the people to turn them in a certain kind of individual behaving a certain way. Thus, it also one of the factor that promotes psychological and physical well being of the people especially due to providing knowledge  to the individual on how to behave in the community. It is the same with that provided by Durkheim that religion transforms human personalities. Durkheim, (1965: 241). According to anthropologists argues on the functions of religion as to promotes pychological and physical well being of the people especially due to emphasizing physical traits, and mostly important the brain. According to Anthony Wallace chronic psychological stress facilitates the emergency of revitalization movements that results cultural reformation, and cultural transformation and also adaptation. Eller, (2007).

Religion promotes development of arts and games, also religion according to Anthropologists influencing arts and games developments . Various religions in the community (ies) uses arts or symbols as one of the part of rituals.  Religions  holds arts or symbols and practices and various games that are meaningful to their beliefs; Clifford Geertz one of the popular anthropologist he wrote his book “Islam Observed: Religious Development in Morocco and Indonesia”,  defined symbol as any objects, acts, events, quality that serves as vehicle for a conception. He argues that religion and culture exist as a traffic of symbols which may occur both in the religion but also in the society, songs and dancing are other  practices in the religious sessions as part of accomplishment of beliefs to some religions. So, religion influences the development of arts (symbols) and games in the community. Geertz, (1973). Also another anthropologist tried to speak on arts and games on religion is Evans Pritchard (1956: 101) argues that all religions make or find, keep, and use objects natural or artificial as foci of meanings and power. People may use peaces of wood to create what can be a symbols of the certain religion to expand the scope and import of symbolic functions.

 

CONCLUSSION

Many anthropologists gives meanings and evaluations on various functions of religion to the various social systems. Religions are largely acknowledged as the mostly forces in social order and other phenomenon that tend to be positive to the community. But apart from the functions of religion according to anthropologists, there are also dysfunctional scenerios, some of them are like enhancing and come with social stratification, may facilitates poverty and other community members see religion as one of the factor of influencing  anciet to the people especially due to the fearvof God. Also it motivates exploitation in the society. Kottak, (2004).