B.A. PART-I SOCIOLOGY Semester-II LESSON NO. : 2.1 AUTHOR : Dr. RAJIV KUMAR JINDAL

MARRIAGE AND ITS TYPES Structure : 5.0 Objectives 5.1 The concept of 5.2 Definitions 5.3 Rules of Marriage ( and ) 5.4 Types of Marriage 5.4.1 5.4.2 5.4.2.1 5.4.2.2 5.4.3 Sororate and Levirate Marriage 5.4.4 Anuloma and Pratiloma Marriage 5.4.5 Pragmatic Marriage 5.4.6 Legally Sanctioned Marriage 5.5. Traditional Forms of Marriage 5.5.1 Brahma Marriage 5.5.2 Daiva Marriage 5.5.3 Arsha Marriage 5.5.4 Prajapatya Marriage 5.5.5 Gandharva Marriage 5.5.6 Asura Marriage 5.5.7 Rakshasa Marriage 5.5.8 Paishacha Marriage 5.6 Summary 5.7 Key Words 5.8 Important questions 5.9 References

5.0 Objectives : This Lesson will enable you to  know the meaning of Marriage  define the Concept of endogamy and exogamy  explain various types of Marriage 5.1 The Concept of Marriage Marriage is an institution, which legally allows a male and a female to live together to establish a family. Marriage is usually conceived as a male-female relationship design to produce children and successfully socialize them. Precise 48 B. A. PART-I 49 SOCIOLOGY definitions vary historically and between and within cultures, but it has been an important concept as a socially sanctioned bond in a sexual relationship. There is no universal definition of marriage as its form varies from culture to culture. In general, Western cultures consider marriage as an exclusive and permanent bond between a man and a woman that is centrally concerned with assigning sexual rights in each of the partners and establishing parental responsibility for the children of the union. In its traditional form, it also organizes parents and children into domestic groups in which basic roles are allocated according to age and gender. In modern times, the term marriage is generally reserved for a state sanctioned union. The phrase legally married can be used to emphasize this point. In the United States are two methods of receiving state sanction of a marriage : common law marriage and obtaining a . In Indian society, by and large, marriage is considered as a sacrament in which a man and a woman after going through certain religious rites may live together for whole life, and may legally produce the children. 5.2 Definitions of Marriage Different thinkers have defined marriage in their own way, some of the important definitions of marriage are as follow : According to Lundberg, marriage consists 'the rules and regulations which define the rights, duties and privileges of husband and wife, with respect to each other." Westermarck has defined, "Marriage, as a relation of one or more men to one or more women which is recognized by custom or law; and involves certain rights and duties both in the case of parties entering the union and in the children born to it." According to Hoebel, "Marriage is the complex of social norms that define and control the relations of mated pairs to each other, their kinsmen, their offspring and society." Horton and Hunt have defined the marriage as a approved social pattern whereby two or more person establish a family. From above definitions we may conclude that marriage is such a universal institution, which allows two partners, generally male and female members of society, to establish a family and to live together for the whole life. They may legally establish sex relations between themselves and may produce the children. 5.3 Rules of Marriage (Exogamy and Endogamy) The basic constants and variations in marital institutions and the affinal relationship that are based on it must first be understood in terms of the patterns of exogamy (out marriage) and endogamy (in marriage). These institutions establish categories of kin and other social identities among whom marriage is prohibited, allowed, preferred, or prescribed. B. A. PART-I 50 SOCIOLOGY

All societies have rules of exogamy, which specify the ranges and categories of relatives who are considered forbidden marriage and sexual partners. These are always the most closely related biological kin, and prohibitions on sexual relations and marriage between parents and children and brothers and sisters are universally applied. Most societies also extend these restrictions to other close relatives, but the ranges and categories, included vary. While societies have rules of exogamy, which specify which relatives are forbidden to marry, they also have those of endogamy, which require that be solely or preferentially contracted within particular social groups, ranges, or relationships. Such practices help to highlight community identity, uniqueness, and status in opposition to neighboring groups with whom marriages are discouraged. Endogamy is often applied on a society-wide level and assists in defining group boundaries. It is sometimes applied to sub-components within a larger society, often to reinforce their ability to maintain restrictive access to property, power, and position. Four types of endogamous division have been widely observed i.e. , class, religious and racial endogamy. Check your Knowledge  What do you mean by Marriage ? ------ Define Exogamy. ------ What is Endogamy? ------5.4 Types of Marriage The types and functions of marriage vary from culture to culture. In the United States, Europe, and in the early 21st century, legally sanctioned marriages are monogamous (although some pockets of society still sanction polygamy socially, if not legally) and is relatively simple and socially sanctioned. In the West, the prevailing view toward marriage today is that it is based on emotional attachment between the partners and entered into voluntarily. In the Islamic world, marriage is sanctioned between a man and a woman; however, there are verses in chapter 4 of the Qur'an which state that in certain conditions a man is allowed up to four wives. Some societies permitted polygamy, in which a man could have multiple wives; even in such societies however, most B. A. PART-I 51 SOCIOLOGY men have only one. In such societies, having multiple wives is generally considered a sign of wealth and power. There are also many monogamous societies, where a marriage consists of only two people, and very few polyandrous, where a woman could have multiple husbands. Various forms and rules of marriage which are existing worldwide varies from culture to culture and community to community, some of the important types of marriage are discussed below. 5.4.1 Monogamy Monogamy is worldwide acceptable and most popular form of marriage. Monogamy means single marriage, which refer to a marriage between one husband and one wife. In this form of marriage a male or female can marry only with one partner once in a life. Second marriage is only possible when the first partner has either died or has been divorced. Monogamy is considered as an ideal form of marriage as it promotes oneness, stability and unity. Mutual love, affections, care and sympathy are the main basis of a successful married life, which is possible when there is one husband and one wife in the family. There are many advantages of monogamy, Firstly monogamy is more stable than polygamy because it is easier to adjust with one spouse rather than with many persons, secondly children in the monogamous family can be properly looked after and socialized, Thirdly due to the limited size of monogamous family it help us to maintain the high standard of living. Lastly we may say that this form of marriage is natural and more compatible with man's nature as there is complete sharing of life between the two partners. 5.4.2 Polygamy Polygamy is a form of marriage in which society allows to have more than one partner of any sex. In this a woman or a man may marry with two or more husbands or wives. Polygamy is of two types i.e. polyandry and polygyny. Polyandry refers to a kind of marriage in which one woman may have more than one husband, while in polygyny one man can have more than one wife. We may discuss the both kinds of marriages as follow. 5.4.2.1 Polyandry Polyandry is a kind of polygamy in which one woman is married to several men. According to K.M. Kapadia, "Polyandry is a form of union in which a women has more than one husband at a time or in which brothers share a wife or wives in common." The occurrence of polyandry is rare and assumes a specific concentration in the Himalayan areas of South Asia. However, it is sporadically distributed in , Oceania, and Native America. Two forms have been recorded : fraternal polyandry in which a group of brothers share a wife, and non-fraternal polyandry in which a woman's husbands are not related. In Hindu mythology we learn that the five brothers called Pandawas shared the same wife, Draupadi. B. A. PART-I 52 SOCIOLOGY

Fraternal forms are common in the mountainous areas of Nepal and Tibet. Among the Tibetan Nyinba, brothers live together throughout their life times in large patrilineally constructed households. They share a common estate and domestic responsibilities. They also share a common wife with whom each maintains a sexual relationship. Generally, each child of the marriage is acknowledged by and develops a special relationship with one of the possible fathers, even where biological paternity cannot be determined. This arrangement can partially be understood as a response to a shortage of women due to a lower survival rate in comparison to men. It also has important economic implications. Since brothers share a wife, their joint estate remains intact from generation to generations and is not subject to the fragmentation. 5.4.2.2 Polygyny Polygyny refers to a marriage in which one man can has more than one wives at a time. According to G.D. Mitchell Polygyny is "the practice of marriage of one man to two or more women." Among the two forms of polygamy, polygyny is by far the most widespread. Several different theories have been proposed to explain its occurrence. Some people believe that a desire for numerous sex partners is built into basic human biology. Other theories based on population and ecological factors explain it as a response to lengthy periods of sexual abstinence that women must follow after child birth in some cultures. This practice reduces population growth, but drives husbands to acquire additional wives to meet unfulfilled sexual needs. Demographic theory suggests that polygyny may occur because of a surplus of women that results from a high incidence of male warfare. However, polygyny occurs in many situations of relatively balanced gender ratios or even, where males outnumber females. 5.4.3 Sororate and Levirate Marriages Sororate is a form of a marriage in which a man marries with his wife's sister. This form of marriage is practiced among certain tribes. The term senior sororate marriage refers to a marriage when a man marries with wife's elder sister. While the junior sororate marriage refers to a marriage with wife's younger sister. This form of marriage is more common among the tribal people than senior sarorate marriage. Under the system of simultaneous sororate marriage after a marriage of a person all the sisters automatically become wives of the . This marriage is popular among the Gonds. There is one another form of sororate marriage called as restricted sororate marriage, in this a man is allowed to marry with his wife's sister only after her death. This form of marriage is practiced among many communities. In levirate marriage, a person can marry with his brother's wife. This is again of two kinds i.e. simultaneous and restricted levirate. Under the former, a B. A. PART-I 53 SOCIOLOGY woman can marry all the brothers of her husbands, while under the later marriage is allowed only after the death of her husband. 5.4.4 Anuloma and Pratiloma Marriage Anuloma and Pratiloma are the forms of inter caste marriage. Under the Anuloma marriage, a man can marry to a woman of his lower social status i.e. a lower caste woman. For instance, a Brahmin can marry a girl belonging to Kshatriya or Vaishya caste; similarly a Kshatriya boy can marry a girl belonging to a Vaishya caste. While under the Pratiloma a man from lower caste may marry the woman of higher caste. According to Annloma and pratiloma rule to marriage, people of higher three can inter-marry but marriage with shudra is not allowed. 5.4.5 Pragmatic Marriage A Pragmatic (or 'Arranged') marriage that is facilitated by formal procedures of family or group politics. A responsible authority sets up or encourages the marriage. The authority could be parents, family, a religious figure or a consensus. The former two often start the process with informal pressure, social pressure, whilst the letter two often start the process with a formal system or statement. In both cases, the authority has a compelling veto over the marriage, and this system is socially supported by the rest of community so that to deny it is extreme and drastic. Once declared, an is implicit, which follows through with a formal marriage ceremony. Those who uphold pragatic marriage frequently state that it is traditional, that it upholds social morals, that it is good for the families involved. 5.4.6 Legally sanctioned Marriage Legally sanctioned marriages are generally conducted between heterosexual couples, although there are countries that recognize same-sex marriage, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, and recently in Spain; in the United State same-sex marriage is legal in the state of Massachusetts. "Civil unions" are recognized in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Germany, France, Portugal, New Zealand, and the U.S. states of vermont and Connecticut; a growing number of American states and various localities, such as Maine, recognize "domestic partnerships," which offer parity of spousal rights, to different degrees, with marriage. Check your Knowledge Define Monogamy ------Define Polygamy ------B. A. PART-I 54 SOCIOLOGY

------Define Anuloma ------Define Pratiloma ------5.5 Traditional Forms of Hindu Marriages Besides the above prevailing types of marriages there are certain forms of traditional Hindu marriage. In Manusmriti there are eight different types of Hindu marriages. The historians believe that these eight different types of marriages prevailed in ancient . They were as follows : 5.5.1 Brahma Marriage In this marriage once the boy completes his Brahmacharya (studenthood), he is eligible to get married. His parents then approaches the parents of a girl belonging to a respectable family and ask them for the hand of their daughter for their son. There was no system of . There was the ritual of kanyadaan where the father uses to gift his daughter to the boy. According to dharmasastras this type of marriage is regarded as the highest. 5.5.2 Daiva Marriage In Daiva marriage the girl is married to a priest during a sacrifice. In this type of marriage the girl's family wait for a reasonable period for a suitable man for their daughter but when nobody turns up they go looking for a groom in such places where a sacrifice is being conducted. Here the girl is groomed with ornaments and married to a priest. According to the sastras Daiva marriage is considered inferior to Brahma marriage because it is considered degrading for the womanhood to look for groom. 5.5.3 Arsha Marriage Arsha marriage refers to the marriages with the sages of rishis. References from dharamsastras tells us that in arsa the bride is given in exchange for two cows received from the groom. Marriages of this type used to happen because the parents of the bride couldn't afford the expenses of their daughter's marriage at the right time according to the brahma rite. So the girl is married off to an old sage. 5.5.4 Prajapatya Marriage Prajapatya marriage is in some ways similar to the Brahma marriage. The basic difference is in this form of marriage that bride's father goes in search for a B. A. PART-I 55 SOCIOLOGY groom for his daughter. The Brahma type is considered a better type of marriage than prajapatya because in Brahma type of marriage groom's family goes out to seek a suitable bride for their son. 5.5.5 Gandharva Marriage Gandharva marriage is like a . Here the bride and the bridegroom get married secretly without the knowledge of their parents. This kind of marriage is similar to the love marriages of today's generation. This marriage reminds us of the love affair of Sakuntala and Dusyanta. 5.5.6 Asura Marriage In the Asura type of marriage the groom is not at all suitable for the bride. In no way he is a match for the girl but the bridegroom willingly gives as much wealth as he can afford to the bridge's parents and relatives. So the system of marriage is more like buying a product. 5.5.7 Rakshasa Marriage Rakshasa marriage is a type, in which the groom fights battles with the bridge's family overcomes them and carries her away and then persuades her to marry. This is not considered as the right kind of marriage as you are forcing somebody to marry. 5.5.8 Paishacha Marriage Paishacha marriage is considered as the most inferior type of marriage. In this type the girl's wish is not considered whether she wants to marry or not instead she was force to marry and even the bride's family is also not given anything in cash or kind. She is seized against her wish. And the marriage is done against the wish of the girl and her family. So looking at all the eight types of marriages, it can be said that we have many variation regarding the institution of marriage and there are not same and uniform rules for everybody. The Hindu sastras has divided each type according to the social structure and system. So it is the people living in the society who can decide, which one to opt and which one to avoid. 5.6 Summary On the basis of above discussion, we may say that marriage is an universal institution, which allows two partners of opposite sex to establish a family and to establish sex relations between themselves. They may also legally produce the children. Each community follows certain rules of endogamy and exogamy which specify the ranges and categories of relatives who are considered for forbidden marriage partners. In the traditional Hindu society various forms of marriage like Brahma vivah, Deva Vivah, Arsh Vivah etc. are mentioned in the Manusmriti. Universally monogamy, which means marriage between one husband and one wife, is considered as an ideal form of marriage in the modern time. There are many communities in the world which follow polyandry or polygyny or any other form of marriage, but with time they are shifting to the norm of single marriage i.e. monogamy. B. A. PART-I 56 SOCIOLOGY

5.7 Key Words Monogamy : A form of marriage in which a person is married to one person at a time. Polyandry : A form of marriage in which a woman is married to two or more men at a time. Polygyny : A form of marriage in which a man is married to two or more women at a time. Anuloma : Marriage between man of higher social position and a woman of lower social position is called Anuloma. Pratiloma : A woman marrying beneath her social position is called pratiloma. Endogamy : When marriage is specifically required with in a group, this specification is called the rule of endogamy. Exogamy : When marriage is specifically required outside a group, this specification is called exogamy. :When marriage is specifically required in an equal or higher social group or subcaste. The specification is called the rule of hypergamy. 5.8 Exercise Questions Q.1. What is marriage ? Discuss its types. Q.2. Define marriage; discuss the various traditional and other forms of marriage. Short Questions : Define (a) Marriage (b) Exogamy (c) Endogamy (d) Monogamy (e) Polygamy (f) Polyandry (g) Polygamy (h) Sororate and levirate marriage (i) Anuloma and pratiloma marriage (j) Name any four traditional forms of marriage 5.9 Books for Further Reference Davis, Kingsley, Human society : The Macmillan Company, 1960. Haralambos, M. Sociology : Themes and Perspectives, Oxford Uni., 1980. Johnson, H.M., Sociology : Allied Publishers Bombay, 1960. Maclver R.M. and Page C.H. Society : An introductory analysis, Macmillan and Co. 1959. Ogburn & Nimkoff : A Handbook of Sociology, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1950. B.A. PART-I SOCIOLOGY Semester-II LESSON NO.: 2.2 AUTHOR : DR. RAJIV K. JINDAL

FAMILY : MEANING, TYPES AND FUNCTIONS Structure : 6.0 Objectives 6.1 Meaning 6.2 Definitions 6.3 Characteristics of Family 6.3.1 Universality 6.3.2 Limited Size 6.3.3 Common Residence 6.3.4 Physical Relationship 6.3.5 Emotional Base 6.3.6 Primary Group 6.3.7 Small unit of Social Structure 6.3.8 A system of Nomenclature 6.3.9 Permanent Institution 6.3.10 Normative Behaviour 6.4 Types of Family 6.4.1 Types based on Residence 6.4.1.1 Patrilocal Family 6.4.1.2 Matrilocal Family 6.4.1.3 Bilocal Family 6.4.1.4 Neolocal Family 6.4.2 Types based on Inheritance and Authority 6.4.2.1 Patri authority or Patriarchal Family 6.4.2.2 Matri authority or Matriarchal Family 6.4.3 Types based on Nomenclature or Lineage 6.4.3.1 Patrilineal Family 6.4.3.2 Matrilineal Family 6.4.4 Types based on Marriage 6.4.4.1 Monogamous Family 6.4.4.2 Polygamous Family 6.4.5 Types based on Size and Organization 6.4.5.1 Nuclear Family 6.4.5.2 Joint Family 6.4.5.3 Extended Family 6.4.6 Types based on Ecology 6.4.6.1 Rural and Urban Family 10 B. A. PART-I 58 SOCIOLOGY

6.5 Functions of Family 6.5.1 Biological Functions 6.5.2 Physical Functions 6.5.3 Social Functions 6.5.4 Economic Functions 6.5.5 Psychological Functions 6.5.6 Religious Functions 6.5.7 Educational Functions 6.5.8 Health Care Activities 6.5.9 Recreational Functions 6.5.10 Civic Functions 6.6 Conclusion 6.7 Key Concepts 6.8 Exercise Questions 6.9 Further Readings 6.0 Objectives The study of this lesson will enable you to :  know the meaning of family.  define the characteristics of family.  explain various types of family.  throw light on the various functions played by family. 6.1 Meaning Family refers to an association of members, which includes husband, wife and children. Ogburn and Nimkoff defined family as a durable association of husband and wife with or without children or of a man or a woman along with children. Sociologists have regarded the family as most important institution of society. It forms the basic unit of social organization and it has difficult to imagine the human society without it. Although the composition of the family varies i.e. it may be nuclear or joint, it may be monogamous of polygamous, such differences can be seen as minor variations, but the family has been seen as a universal social institution, as an inevitable part of human society. 6.2 Definitions English word "family" has been derived from the latin word "famulus" which means parents, children, servant and slaves, the Greek used the word "Dikonomia" for family which means greater group, normally parents and children are included in the family. Different authors have given different definitions of family. Some main definitions are as under :- B. A. PART-I 59 SOCIOLOGY

According to American Bureau of census : Family is "a group of two of more person related by blood, marriage or and residing together, all such persons are considered as member of one family." Anderson and Parker defined family as : "A society recognized unit of people related to each other by Kinship, marital & legal ties." According to Clave : Family is "A system of relationship existing between parents and upbringing of children." Maclver has defined : Family as "a group by a sex relationship sufficiently precise and enduring to provide for the procreation and upbringing of children." The family gets formed with husband and wife and children from this point of view, at last three types of relations exist in every family : (1) Husband & wife relations (2) Parents-children relations (3) Brothers-sisters relations (Siblings relations) From above discussion we may conclude that family is an important social institution, based upon biological, physical, emotional and blood ties. It includes husband, wife and their children, and its primary function is reproduction and socialization of the new born. 6.3 Characteristics of Family The following are the distinctive features of characteristics of family : 6.3.1 Universality : Family is found in every society of every time and every type. Each person society belongs to a family. So family is considered a universal organization. We cannot think of a society without family. 6.3.2 Limited Size : Family is of limited in size, because the members of the family are those who are related to one another through blood or adoption. Either the family is joint or nuclear. Its size is always limited. 6.3.3 Common Residences : All members of the family have a common house. The member of the family can stay away temporarily for job, education, trade etc. but the house belongs to all of them jointly. The house can be ancestral property from the mother or father side. 6.3.4 Physical Relationship : The society allows in maintaining physical or sexual relations between husband and wife through the institution of marriage. The children who take birth through sexual relations between husband and wife the society accepts them. After birth, B. A. PART-I 60 SOCIOLOGY the children become members of the society. 6.3.5 Emotional Base : Another feature of family is that all the members of the family have emotional attachment with one another. The responsibilities of the members of the family are unlimited. Generally we see love, affections, sympathy, patience etc. among the members of family, which is not found in other organization, so there is emotional basis of society. 6.3.6 Primary Group : Family in each society is based upon primary relationship the members of each family are inter-related to each other by direct . They meet each other face to face for mutual help. Relations in the family are based upon love and affections. There are always intimate relations and we feeling among the members of a family. 6.3.7 Small Unit of Social Structure : We may consider family a small form of society. Family is smallest unit of social structure. Each member of family occupies a particular status and role, arrangement of these status and roles forms a social a structure, which is part of family. 6.3.8 A System of Nomenclature : In every family there is some system of nomenclature. Each family is identified with a particular name, which differentiate it from other families. Caste, Gotra, Khandan and Socio-economic background of the family members play an important role to determine the status of a family. 6.3.9 Permanent Institution : Family is permanent as an institution. If husband or wife or any member of the family unfortunately dies or remain away from the family for a long period, family as an institution remains and continues in human society. 6.3.10 Normative behaviour : Each family follows certain rules, norms, values and customs, which a newborn child learns during the process of socialization. A man first acquires the socially approved behaviour in the family only. It helps to maintain integration in the family as well as in the society at large. Check your knowledge (a) What do you mean by the term family ? ______B. A. PART-I 61 SOCIOLOGY

(b) How many types of relation exist in the family ? ______(c) What are the characteristics of family ? ______6.4 Types of Family : 6.4.1 Types of family on the basis of Residence : 6.4.1.1 Patrilocal Family : In this type of family woman after getting married goes to stay in the house of her husband. This type of marriage is very popular all over the world. 6.4.1.2 Matrilocal Family : In this type of family, man after marriage goes to stay in the house of his wife. This type of marriage is found among certain communities generally among the tribals. 6.4.1.3 Bilocal Family : This is a form of marriage when male and female partners of the marriage stay for certain period in a year in the families of both i.e. in the house of husband as well as in the house of a wife, depending upon the need and requirement of the family. 6.4.1.4 Neolocal Family : In this type of family both male and female settle in a new house. 6.4.2 Types of family on the basis of Inheritance and Authority : 6.4.2.1 Patriauthority or Patriarchal Family : It is generally seen that in a male dominant society male members in family mainly exercise its power and authority, and most of the decisions concerning family and economic matters are taken by the father or male members. Such family is called patriauthority family. This is a type of family in which transfer of property and other economic goods remain among the male members of family. They keep hold on capital through out their life. 6.4.2.2 Matriauthority or Matriarchal Family : Matriauthority family is reverse to the patriauthority family. In such a family mother or female has a hold on most of the important decisions of family, she also has a hold on economic activities. In this type of family transfer of property and other economic goods remain in the hands of female members of the family. B. A. PART-I 62 SOCIOLOGY

6.4.3 Type of family on the basis of Nomenclature : 6.4.3.1 Patrilineal Family : When ancestry of decent or lineage or Vansh of the male members of the family is adopted and continue after the marriage, we call it patrilineal family. 6.4.3.2 Matrilineal Family : When ancestry or decent of the female member of the family is adopted and continue after the marriage, we call it matrilineal family. 6.4.4 Types of family on the basis of Marriage : 6.4.4.1 Monogamous Family : Monogamy is a most popular types of marriage found among the various communities of the world. It is also known as single marriage, which means marriage between one husband and one wife. A family composed of one husband and one wife is known as monogamous family. 6.4.4.2 Polygamous Family : The word poly stands for many, which means more than one marriage. Polygamy is a general term applied upon both i.e. male and female. When a male or female do more than one marriage and a family established on this base is called polygamous family. Polygamy is of two types i.e. Polyandrous Family and Polygynous Family. Under the polygynous type of family one husband has more than one wives while under the polyandrous family one wife has two or more husbands. When the husbands are brothers it is called fraternal polyandry but when they are not brothers it is called as non-fraternal polyandrous family. 6.4.5 Types of family on the basis of Size and Organization : 6.4.5.1 Nuclear Family : Nuclear family is small sized family, which includes husband, wife and children. In the modern industrial society or in the urban areas most of the families are of nuclear nature. 6.4.5.2 Joint Family : Joint family includes besides husband, wife and children grandparent and grand children also. In this type of family certain married brothers may live altogether along with their children. This family is generally large in size ad mostly found in the rural areas where agriculture is the dominant occupation of the people. 6.4.5.3 Extended Family : Extended family is found in certain areas, it is quite a large sized family which includes certain generations which live altogether along with their children. 6.4.6 Types of family on the basis of Ecology : B. A. PART-I 63 SOCIOLOGY

6.4.6.1 Rural and Urban Family : Family which live in the villages or rural area is called rural family, whereas family live in the cities or urban areas is called urban family, both these types of families have their own distinctive features as rural families are generally joint families in which head of the family plays special authoritative and commanding role whereas urban families are of nuclear nature in which all the members are treated equally. Check your knowledge (a) Define the types of family on the basis of residence. ------(b) What type of family do we have on the basis of inheritance and authority. ------(c) Explain the types of family on the basis of size. ------6.5 Functions of Family : There are many functions that family fulfils for society. Davis has characterized the main social functions of the family in four divisions i.e. reproduction, maintenance, placement and socialization of the young. Maclver divided the functions of the family into two categories i.e. essential and non- essential. Under the essential he included three functions :- Satisfaction of sex need, Production and Rearing of children, Provision of home. Under the non- essentials functions he mentioned :- Religions, Educational, Health and recreation. Broadly functions of the family can be discussed as under : 6.5.1 Biological Functions Family is an only institution, which legitimate sex relationship between male and female. After going through the ceremony of marriage they get legal right to stay together as a husband and wife and enjoy the life of love and affection. Production of children is an important activity of a family life and also it is necessary for the continuation of human society. A newborn human body is biologically dependent upon elders to live alive; family fulfils these functions by child rearing practices till he becomes independent. In order to survive, a newborn body has a lot to learn i.e. accepted ways of behavior. B. A. PART-I 64 SOCIOLOGY

6.5.2 Physical Functions Each family makes an arrangement of home to look after their children and to protect them from the powerful nature. Comfortable home and affectionate family environment plays an important role in the development of a child. Arrangements of Roti, Kapda Aur Makan are the basic needs of a man for survival. It is family, which make arrangement of all their basic needs. Food is necessary for life, good health and physical development of a man. Clothes are essential for protection form cold, heat, rain, similarly house is too necessary for the survival. 6.5.3 Social Function Since family is an important social institution found in every society. It has many social functions to perform for a society. In every society family plays an important role as an agent of socialization; a newborn child acquires socially approved behaviour in the family through the processes of socialization. It imparts the knowledge of our norms, value, customs, beliefs etc. to the coming generation. It internalizes the culture of a society to an individual. Through the process of socialization, a person become biological to social and comes to know to live in the society. It also exercise control over its members, which help in the maintenance of well-organized society. In order to maintain integration and order in a society, social control is very important and this is possible only when its members behave in accordance to the values and norms of society. Family helps to fulfil this objective. The elder members of the family enforce social codes on the children, which helps to maintain uniformity and order in the society various sanctions are used by the members of family to maintain control over children's behavior. There are many other social functions of a family, i.e. to provide a name to a newborn, to bring a continuity of society, Khandan, caste and race by reproduction, to help children for mate-selection and marriage etc. Each person in a society is recognized from the family he belongs. Family provides a specific status to an individual. Children born in Brahmin, Kashatriyas, Vaish or Shudra family have their own respective place in the society. A son born into a high-class family has a higher status as compare to the son of a poor lower class family. 6.5.4 Economic Functions Family serves an important economic unit. In the traditional family most of the goods for consumption were produced, prepared and consumed at home, family was a main unit of production and centre of economic activities. Property is an important economic commodity, which is protected, maintained and transmitted through family usually by prescribed rules of the society. With the development of industrialization importance of the family as a economic unit has been lessened B. A. PART-I 65 SOCIOLOGY as most of the goods for consumption are purchased from the market. The members of the modern family are engaged in different activities out side the home. 6.5.5 Psychological Function Family also fulfils many psychological needs of an individual by providing love, sympathy, emotional satisfaction and security to its members. Proper development of a personality of an individual largely depends upon the proper mental development of a child in the family. 6.5.6 Religious Functions Basic religious training is provided to the children in a family. They learn religious knowledge and practices in the family. They know about the concepts of God, heaven and hell, sacred and profane, moral & immoral from the family. 6.5.7 Educational Functions The family plays an important role as educational agency. The child learns the first letters from his parents. It is in the family that a child learns about love, sympathy, sacrifice, obedience, discipline etc. Family may be called vocal elementary school for a child. In old days, formal school education was not much popular among the people, and the children used to learn everything from his family. 6.5.8 Health Care Activities Family performs many activities relating to the health of a child. It takes care of proper diet & cleanliness of the child; there are many folk and traditional medicines used by the old members of a family when they suffer from some problem. From birth till death situations of disease, accident or any other abnormalities are looked after into family. 6.5.9 Recreational Functions Many activities related to the recreation are also performed in the family. On various social and religious gathering like birthday parties, marriage ceremonies and many festivals like Holi, Lohri, Deepawali etc. all the family members enjoy together, do marry making, they sing and dance together and enjoy the life. Old members in the family tell stories to the young one and entertain them. 6.5.10 Civic Functions Family is the school of civic training. The child learns the first lessons of citizenship in the family. Many habits expected from a good citizen are learned in the family during the process of socialization. It is a family, which prepare a child according to the socially expected ways of life. 6.6 Conclusion It may be concluded that family performs many important functions in society such as economic, biological, religious and educational. It plays an B. A. PART-I 66 SOCIOLOGY important role to maintain integration and order in the society through socialization and social control and personality of an individual largely depends upon the family he belongs to. 6.7 Key Concepts Patriarchal Family : When male person keep hold on authority, decision making, property etc. Matriarchal Family : When female person keep hold of authority, decision making, property etc. Monogamy : One husband and one wife. Polygamy : Marriage with more than one male or female. Polyandary : When one wife has more than two or more husbands like Dropadi in Mahabharta. Polygyny : One husband has more than one wives. 6.8 Questions : 1. Define family and discuss its various functions. 2. What is family ? Discuss its features and types. Short Questions : Define : (a) Family (b) Nuclear Family (c) Patriarchal Family (d) Monogamous Family (e) Polygamous Family 6.9 Books for further reference : Davis, Kingsley, Human Society : The Macmillan Company, 1960. Haralambos, M. Sociology : Themes and Perspectives, Oxford Uni., 1980. Johnson, H.M., Sociology : Allied Publishers Bombay, 1960. Ogburn & Nimkoff : A Handbook of Sociology, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1950. B.A. PART-I SOCIOLOGY Semester-II LESSON NO.: 2.3 AUTHOR : PROF. R.K. CHAUDHARY

KINSHIP : MEANING AND FUNCTIONS

7.0 Objectives 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Family : The Focus of Study 7.3 Kinship Referents 7.4 Diagrammatic Presentation of Kinship Relations 7.5 Facts exist in Kinship Relations 7.6 Other aspects of Kinship 7.6.1 Degree of Kinship 7.6.2 Range 7.7 Kinship Usage 7.7.1 Avoidence 7.7.2 Joking Relationships 7.7.3 Avunculate 7.7.4 Amitate 7.8 Significance or Functions of Kinship 7.8.1 Kinship is the basic idiom of Social Relations 7.8.2 Kinship is a focal point of values 7.8.3 Variations in Kinship Systems 7.8.4 Kinship accords Social Status 7.8.5 Kinship defines Social Roles 7.8.6 Helps to define descent and inheritance 7.9 Exercise Questions 7.10 Further Readings 7.0 Objectives : After going through this lesson you will be able to : * know the concept of kinship. * find out and describe the basis of kinship. * understand and present kinship diagrammatically. * explore various other aspects of kinship. * examine the significance of kinship for the individual, and for the society. 7.1 Introduction : In human society kinship is universal. People are bound together by various kinds of bonds. The most universal and the most basic of these bonds is the one which is based on reproduction, an inherent human drive, and forms the bases of

20 B. A. PART-I 68 SOCIOLOGY kinship. The desire for reproduction gives rise to two kinds of bonds : firstly, there is the bond between spouses and their relatives on either side, and secondly, there is the bond between parents and their children, and also that between siblings, i.e., between children of the same parents. The first kind of bond, which arises out of socially or legally defined marital relationship, is called affinal kinship, and the relatives so related are called affinal kin. The affinal kins are not related to one another through blood. The other relatives are related through blood and are called consanguinal kins, and it is called consanguinal kinship, alongwith biological facts, social recognition is equally important. Therefore, "all societies distinguish various categories of relationship of descent or consanguinity, and most societies distinguish relationships by marriage or affinity as well. Although dictionary definitions differentiate these relationships, it in convenient to extend the term, 'kinship' to cover both kinds. The resulting network of social relations may constitute almost the whole social structure in some of the simpler societies or be a relatively small part of a highly complex structure, as in modern industrial societies" (Eggan : 1968 : 390). Kinship is considered to play an important role in the regulation of behaviour as well as formation of social groups. Eggan (op. cit.) says that kinship systems depend on social recognition and cultural implementation of relationship derived from descent and marriage. All these relationships are given some names called kinship terms. All these kinship relationships and kinship terms are associated with set of behavioural patterns and attitudes. The system of kinship and marriage plays an important role in maintaining group cohesion and solidarity and in orienting the individual members to the social milieu. The use of the term 'system' implies that there is a complex relationship interdependence between the component parts : the social categories and the associated rights and duties. Kinship, therefore, can simply, easily and briefly be defined as a study of the cultural implementation of social relationships, social categories, and social group that are formed among people who stand in chain of biological or quasi- biological relationship to one another. 7.2 Family : The Focus of Study In all societies family is the primary unit that forms the focus of kinship studies. It is because the family is universal in nature and it plays a significant role in mating and reproduction. It is in the family that primary relationships of parent and child, husband and wife, and brothers and sisters are found to exist. On the basis of the network, genealogical relationships can be constructed. Through family parenthood acquires social recognition. As a result, the child is B. A. PART-I 69 SOCIOLOGY provided with the legitimate position in society. On these basis, in kinship studies, it becomes convenient to distinguish between the pater, or the social father, and the genitor, or the biological father. In kinship, sometimes it becomes necessary distinguish between the biological father and the culturally assumed (or adopted) social father. This gives rise to the concept of quasi-kinship relationships. In this relationship any person who acquires the membership in a kinship unit may or may not be a relative. But when he/she acquires the membership it is, for all purposes, treated like any other biologically related relative. On his/her part they own the same responsibilities, rights and obligations towards the group (and group members) in which they acquire membership. Such instances are that of adopted children or parents, godfather or godmother etc. Family forms the basis of kinship. In any kinship group a member acquires entry through three processes, (a) through birth, (b) through marriage, and (c) through adoption. The family in which a child is born is called the family of orientation. In such a kinship group a person acquires membership by birth. After marriage a man and a woman establish as family called family of procreation. In such cases, a person acquires membership into a kinship group through marriage. Still in other cases a person may acquire membership into a group through adoption (fictive kinship). For all purposes, such members are treated like any other member into a kinship group. Those who are related through relationship of blood are termed as consanguineal relatives and those who are related through marriage are called affinal relatives. 7.3 Kinship Referents The word 'kinship' has been used to mean several things and it is understood and expressed in a number of ways. Kinship relationships, similarly, can be expressed in a number of ways or it can be said that they have many referents. These are : (a) Biological referents, (b) behavioural referents, and (c) linguistic referents. These are the main referents. However, there may be many more as well. People who are genetically and biologically related to one another are Kinsman. Kinship relationship so viewed, form biological networks. Biological relationships can also be understood in terms of donors and receivers of genes. Every living individual is a recipient of genes, and a potential or probable donor of genes. There are two types of biological relationships that can exist between human beings : (1) one of these two types of relationships is a relationship of 'descent', B. A. PART-I 70 SOCIOLOGY and (2) the other is a sexual relationship. Therefore, all kinship relationship comprises of one link, or a series of links, either of descent or of sexual union. All kinship relationships, thus, arise out of either relations of descent or that of sexual unions. Other type of kinship relationships could be "quasi-kinship" relations. Thus, adoption, and other forms of "quasi-kinship" are made to serve as socially approved substitutes for the biological relationships. In terms of kinship, biological relations have other significance also. Biological relationships are viewed socially and culturally also. Such views have two ramifications : First : All people classify their kinsmen into various categories and give these categories names, called kinship terms. Second : Each named kinship category will be found to have certain modes of behaviour expected from the people who are fitted into these categories. Thus, a kinship term is a linguistic tag for a role. The role has biological criteria; and it has cultural criteria for role performance. Thus, it can also be said that kinship terms are role terms. 7.4 Diagrammatic Presentation of Kinship Relations Kinship is a complex phenomenon. But there are ways to simplify it. Therefore, kinship can be easily and briefly defined as a study of cultural implementation of social relationships, social categories, and social groups that are formed among people who stand in chain of biological or quasi-biological relationship to one another. Study of kinship can be presented through a simple diagram. = 0

O The diagram can be read as : a man (A) marries (=) a woman (0) and they produce (I) children Therefore stands for man = stands for marriage O stands for woman, and I stands for children, In genealogical presentation, there is a practice that the eldest child is presented on the existence left of the diagram followed by others towards right in that order. The two kinds of biological relationships (i.e., descent and sexual) can take place in one of the two modes, i.e. (i) direct and (ii) shared. Both the biological relationships, descent and sexual, thus, have two forms each — direct as well as shared. It can be presented in a diagram as follows : B. A. PART-I 71 SOCIOLOGY

Direct Shared Sexual Spouses Co-spouses Hu-Wi Co-wi - -Co-wi Co.Hu—Co.Hu Descent Lineal kinsman Collaterals Fa-So, Mo-So, Br-Br- Br-Si Fa-Da, Mo-Da. Si-Si

Thus, in primary kinship unit, three types of relations can be identified : (a) Men and women (b) Parents and children (c) Collaterals Man and woman, in the role of husband (Hu) and wife (Wi) as spouses have direct sexual relations, whereas the wives of one husband (co-spouses) and husbands of one wife have shared sexual relations. Similarly, the parents and their children (linear kinsman), i.e. Father-son (Fa-so), Mother-son (Mo-so), Father-daughter (Fa-Da) and Mother-daughter (Mo- Da) have direct relationship of descent. The children of the same parents do not have direct relationships of descent, but they share this relationships. This is so because none of the child is related directly to one another. They are related to one another through their parents only. Diagrammatically, they are horizontally related to one another. Such relations are shared relations of descent and all such relatives are called collaterals. Thus, all brothers and sisters, father's brothers and sisters, mother's- brother and mother-sister and all their children fall in the category of collaterals. 7.5 Facts exist in Kinship Relations From the above discussion and diagram we have found the following facts that can exist in such a kinship relationship. (a) Two sex-roles — — Male and female (b) Two generations — — Senior or junior (c) Two types of biological relations — — Sexuality and descent (d) Two types of shared biological — — Affinityand collaterality relationships In the primary kinship group, there are ten basic kinship roles : wife; co- wife; mother; daughter; sister; husband; co-husband; father; son; brother. All other roles can be described by breaking them down into a chain of primary roles, such as father (Fa), Father's father (Fa Fa) Father's father's father (Fa Fa Fa) etc. and Mother (Mo), Mother's mother (Mo Mo), Mother's mother's mother (Mo Mo Mo) etc. B. A. PART-I 72 SOCIOLOGY

All these relationships are called or given some names. Each of such a biological relationship in expressed in a cultural form. These biological facts when given a cultural expression, give rise to kinship terminology. As discussed earlier, each kinship relationship, and a person fitted into that relationship, is given a name, called a kinship term. All these kinship terms are put into different categories. All kinsmen, thus, fall into one or the other kinship category — called the classification of kinship terms or different terminological systems. Check your knowledge (a) Kinship ------(b) Affinal Kinship ------(c) Family of orientation ------(d) Kinship References. ------7.6 Other Aspects of Kinship 7.6.1 Degree of Kinship Degree of kinship allows one to understand the nearness or distance of relationships that an individual may have with other individuals in a kinship network. In this respect following types of kinship relationships can be identified : (i) Primary Kin : If a person is related to ego directly, he is ego's primary kin. (In kinship studies an ego is a person from whom we start determining/ tracing/linking other relationships. He is the starting point for all relationships). Thus, one's father/mother is one's primary consanguine kin, and one's husband/wife is one's primary offlnal kin. B. A. PART-I 73 SOCIOLOGY

= O E F

=O O C A B D Ego Ego Thus A and E and F are primary consanguine kins. Similarly A, C, and D also are primary kinds. A and B are primary affinal kins. Similarly E and F also are primary affinal kins. (ii) Secondary kins (or kin of the second degree) : Any kin related to ego through primary kin, themselves being primary kin of ego's primary kin, are ego's kin of secondary degree, e.g. ego's father's brother, wife's brother, mother's easier, father's father, mother's mother etc. (iii) Teritary kin : Secondary kin of ego's primary kin or primary kin of ego's secondary kin constitute the teritary kin. 7.6.2 Range : Kinship groups can be called a broad range or narrow range kin group. It is called a broad range or narrow range according to the number of persons it includes. Thus, modern western kinship is a narrow range system, whereas the primitive sib is a broad range system including people scattered over relatively larger areas. 7.7 Kinship Usage : Within each kin group, whether it is a particularist family, or an extension thereof, like the joint family, or a sib, there are a certain types of behaviour patterns which exhibit a regularity, a more or less permanent and definite structure. Such types of behaviour, verbal or non-verbal constitute kinship usage. Some of these usages can be as follows : 7.7.1 Avoidance : It is a kind of relationship which people try to avoid with each other. Interaction seeing, meeting, eating together, sexual relationship among some relatives are either avoided, or some distance is maintained or forbidden completely. This type of behaviour is called avoidance. This type of relationships show or express low degree of familiarity among people who are involved or are a part of avoidance. In some societies the boy's father-in-law and boy's mother avoid seeing each other. 7.7.2 Joking relationships : It is the reverse of avoidance relationships. An extreme degree of familiarity is expressed through joking relationships. Such joking may amount to exchange of abuses, obscene and vulgar references to body parts, damage of each other's property, ridicule, or physical assault/harm and so on. Anthropologists and sociologists give various explanations to it. B. A. PART-I 74 SOCIOLOGY

7.7.3 Avunculate : If the maternal uncle enjoys a pre-eminent place in the life and affections of his nephew and nieces (children of sister) as a matter of ; if he has special obligations towards them which exceed with that of their father; if he has a priori right over loyalties; if he transmits his prosperity to his nephew, and if the nephew works for him rather than his father. In sum, if maternal uncle comes first among all male relatives ... it is avunculate kinship relationship. 7.7.4 Amitate : In this system a special role is acquired by father's sister. It is similar to that of the role required by mother's brother is avunculate system. In amitate father's sister acquires, among females, a dominant role. 7.8 Significance of Kinship or Functions of Kinship In brief, kinship plays a very significant role in the life of individuals in any community. Without kinship, any relationship will not have social and cultural meaning. To translate biological relationships into social and cultural meanings and significance, kinship plays a very crucial role. It can be discussed briefly as follows : 7.8.1 Kinship is the basic idiom of social relations : Kinship serves a basic model for relating to one's fellow men. Anthropologists often find that until a person is assigned a place in this scheme of kinship, he cannot take part in the life of community. Kinship relationship also acquire significance even when they are not based on blood (descent) or marriage (affmal). Such relationships are fictive kinship relationships, such as godfather, godmother, adopted children etc. Most of the relationships are modeled on blood ties. 7.8.2 Kinship is a focal point of values : Kinship network is an place where a person learns or acquires many types of values and behaviour. Obligations among relatives are viewed as morally binding, and the fulfilment of these obligations ranks high among virtues of people. Three conditions make way for the performance of obligations and making the human social life possible : (a) continuing association of a male ... the father ... with the primary nuclear group of mother and offspring; (b) the prohibition of mating within the enlarged nuclear group ... the taboo; and (c) the systematic sharing of food and other scarce resources, both within and between these groups. Kinship system builds on the complex of relationships between father and mother, between parents and children, between siblings, and extends beyond members of a local group. The obligations of kinship have a special significance in view of above three conditions. 7.8.3 Variations in Kinship Systems : Many anthropologists, through empirical studies, have provided details of different societies across time and space. Societies B. A. PART-I 75 SOCIOLOGY show variations in terms of expressing kinship ties, descent systems, system of alliance, kinship terminologies and the roles associated with different kin ties. This has helped in making comparative studies and in developing systems of kinship studies. 7.8.4 Kinship accords Social Status : A member born into a kinship group acquires its identities and social status. This provides an individual the basis to acquire obligations, values, rights and duties etc. 7.8.5 Kinship defines social roles : As discussed earlier, each kinship category, and any individual falling in that category, is called by a term, called kinship term. Each kinship term is associated with a role expected of each individual falling in that category. Therefore, each kinship term has been called a role term. Every individual forming a part of kinship network has a role of perform. 7.8.6 Helps to define descent and inheritance : Kinship not only helps to trace and define biological relationships, it also helps to locate and define descent as well as social inheritance of an individual. Each individual belongs to either the male line or to the female line. Therefore, descent is either partilineal or matrilineal. In its place, this further helps to identify the economic system to which type of descent one hails form. Through geneological connections, an individual can trace, and can connect oneself, one's descent to any ancestor in the past, as well as to other relatives around him. All individuals falling in that kinship network can be identified and it can be defined how these individuals were related to one another in their life-time. Kinship, thus, not only plays a significant role in identifying our place in the kinship network in the present, it also helps us to know our social as well as cultural past. 7.9 Key Words : Clan : A group united by a common ancestor is called a clan. In the contest of Indian Society, subcaste sharing a common gotra is called a clan. Descent : Derivation from an ancestor is called descent. There are various ways of derivation and hence different systems of descent are found in human societies. Consanguinity : It refers to the state of being related by blood. All blood relatives of a person are his/her consanguines. 7.10 Exercise Questions : 1. What do you mean by kinship ? What are the basis of kinship. 2. Define kinship and discuss its various usages. 3. What is kinship ? Explain its significance. Short Questions (Define) (a) Kinship (b) Avunculate B. A. PART-I 76 SOCIOLOGY

(c) Amitate (d) Collateral (e) Descent 7.11 Further Readings Dube, Leela. 1957. The Sociology of Kinship in India. Delhi. ICSSR. Eggan. 1968. "Kinship" in International Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences. Fox, Robin. 1976. Kinship and Marriage. Penguine. Goody, Jack (ed.). 1958. Kinship. Penguine. Keesing, Roger. 1975. Kin groups and Social Structure. New York. Holt, Rinehart & Winston. B.A. PART-I SOCIOLOGY Semester-II LESSON NO.: 2.4 AUTHOR : PROF. BHUPINDER SINGH

RELIGION : MEANING AND FUNCTIONS Structure 8.0 Objectives 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Religion : The Sociological Approach 8.3 Meaning of Religion 8.3.1 Some basic problems with the concept of religion 8.3.2 Concept of Religion in Sociology : Definitional Problems 8.3.3 Definition of Religion: Approach of Giddens 8.3.4 Definition of Religion : Approach of Keith Roberts 8.4 Substantive Definitions 8.4.1 Functional Definitions 8.4.2 Symbolic Definitions 8.5 Aspects of Religion 8.5.1 Religious Beliefs 8.5.2 Religious Rituals 8.5.3 Religious Experience 8.5.4 Religious Community 8.6 Religion and Magic 8.7 Functions and Dysfunctions of Religion 8.7.1 Religion Provides emotional consolation 8.7.2 Religion contributes to Social stability and order 8.7.3 Religion sacralizes norms and values 8.7.4 Religion also performs critical or prophetic functions 8.7.5 Religion performs important identity functions 8.7.6 Religion helps in the growth and maturation of the individual 8.8 Let us sum up 8.9 Key words 8.10 Model Answers 8.11 Further Readings 8.0 OBJECTIVES : A study of this lesson will enable you to : * understand the nature and meaning of religion. 77 B. A. PART-I 78 SOCIOLOGY

* appreciate the difference between religion and magic. * learn about the functions and dysfunctions of religion. * thus grasp the importance of religion as a social institution. 8.1 INTRODUCTION: The present lesson is intended to explain, from the sociological point of view, the meaning, functions and dysfunctions of religion. (i) To begin with, the nature of the sociological approach to religion is briefly clarified. (ii) The next section highlights some problems with the concept of religion is before considering the various definitions of religion, substantive and functional, offered by sociologists. (iii) The following two sections dwell on the various aspects of religion as well as elucidate the distinction between religion and magic. (iv) Finally, the lesson describes the functions and dysfunctions of religion thereby revealing its great importance for individual and society. 8.2 RELIGION: THE SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH: Religion - whether considered as a social institution, a system of beliefs and rituals or an experience sui generis - is a universal phenomenon concerned with the supernatural or the sacred. It will be hard to find a society, primitive or modern, where religion is not present in one form or another. As Mircea Eliade's A history of religious ideas (1978) testifies, religion has existed in the human world ever since prehistoric times. Religion, irrespective of the varied forms it has assumed across space and time, is of great importance for society. It is the source of higher culture and morality; it forms the basis of social groups and institutions; and it props social order. This is not to deny, as thinkers like Ludwig Feuerbach and Karl Marx have pointed out, that religion can also turn dysfunctional and reinforce false consciousness, engender communal conflicts, and obstruct social change. Evidently, religion influences human behaviour in more than one ways and is, therefore, an object of serious sociological interest. Sociology explores the dialectical interplay or the complex interaction between religion and society. Religion is born in society and carries the imprint of its contextual location within its form, content, role, and organisation. Many of the features of a religion - say Buddhism or Islam - will not be intelligible except with reference to the historical context of its origin and growth. In turn, as indicated above, religion also shapes social life in numerous ways. The social origins and the social impact of religion constitute the twin foci of the sociology of religion that marks it off from other approaches to the study of religion such as theological, philosophical and psychological. Theology studies the relationship B. A. PART-I 79 SOCIOLOGY between God, man and nature in one or more religions; philosophy critically examines the notions of truth and reality and of good and evil as articulated in religious texts; and psychology relates religion in its various aspects to the structure and needs of the human psyche at the individual and collective levels. It is left to sociology, however, to focus on the social dimensions of religion. Let us recall that sociology and positivism were born together in the positive philosophy of Auguste Comte, which was openly and radically hostile to religion. Although, this hostility has persisted in sociological orientation to a certain extent, most of the sociologists today are disinclined to sit in judgment over the ultimate validity of religion. They are interested in religion to the extent it influences or is influenced by social life. Sociologists naturally have to begin by asking: What is religion? What does religion mean? What are the various aspects of religion? Is religion the same as magic? The next section takes up these difficult questions before moving on to the social functions and dysfunctions of religion. 8.3 MEANING OF RELIGION: . One way to understand the meaning of religion is to see how it has been defined by sociologists and social anthropologists. The difficulty is that sociologists are not agreed on how to define religion. Some of them even believe that a cross- cultural definition of religion is impossible. As a matter of fact, doubts have been cast on the very usefulness of the category of religion. Why should the concept of religion or its definition pose such seemingly intractable problems? 8.3.1 Some basic problems with the concept of religion Firstly, religion is thought to be a western and ethnocentric concept incapable of application to non-western cultures. This is how Winston L.King begins his article on religion in The Encyclopedia of Religion (1987): The very attempt to define religion, to find some distinctive or possibly unique essence or set of qualities that distinguish the religious from the remainder of human life, is primarily a Western concern. The attempt is a natural consequence of the Western speculative, intellectualistic, and scientific disposition. It is also the product of the dominant Western religious mode, what is called the Judeo- Christian climate or, more accurately, the theistic inheritance from Judaism, , and Islam (282). Sam Gill (1994) concurs: "The academic study of religion has often failed to acknowledge what it is. It is academic; it is Western; it is intellectual." In this view, the concept of religion or its academic study is value-laden and hence deeply problematical. Daniel Dubuisson's The western construction of religion (2003) is perhaps the most thorough and systematic critique of 'religion' from this standpoint. B. A. PART-I 80 SOCIOLOGY

Secondly, the concept of religion is said to emphasize only its external and observable aspects such as tradition, myths and rituals to the neglect of its internal and private aspect - the personal faith in transcendence. Such is the view of Wilfred Cantwell Smith and some of his followers. Cantwell Smith recommended that scholars no longer employ "religion" whatsoever. Russell T. McCutcheon (1992) has summed up Smith's position as follows: Until recently Cantwell Smith's The meaning and end of religion constituted one of the more notable critiques of the concept of "religion" as it is used by scholars. Cantwell Smith's thesis is by now a familiar one: to examine what he understood to be the externals of religion (what he termed the cumulative tradition) as the sum total of religious experience reifies subjective human experiences by overlooking the more important internal element of personal faith in transcendence. In a nutshell, he advised against taking a part for the whole. Because this process of reification is so deeply entrenched in the modern science of religion. Cantwell Smith recommended that scholars no longer employ "religion" whatsoever. In his book Religion-as belonging (1991), John Cumpsty endorsed Cantwell Smith's standpoint by maintaining that 'religion' cannot represent a person's sense of belonging to the "ultimately real". Thirdly, the category of religion is considered deficient in so far as it fails to reflect or encompass the great diversity of religious beliefs and organisations across the world. For instance, Anthony Giddens (2001) writes: The variety of religious beliefs and organizations is so immense that scholars have found great difficulty in reaching a generally accepted definition of religion. In the West, most people identify religion with Christianity - a belief in a supreme being, who commands us to behave in a moral fashion on this earth, and promises an afterlife to come. Yet we cannot define religion as a whole in these terms. These beliefs, and many other aspects of Christianity, are absent from most of the world's religions. Religion homogenises belief systems and thus distorts reality. That is why the great social anthropologist E.E. Evans-Pritchard was, according to Frank Salamone (2006). "eloquent in his general refusal to attempt a definition of religion that would fit cross-culturally." More recently, Timothy Fitzgerald has pursued this theme in his book The Ideology of Religious Studies (2000) pointing out that many societies even do not have a word for religion. Perhaps this is also true of India. The Indian word dharma is often used to translate religion, but the two words embody different concepts. Dharma refers: to an impersonal cosmic law that sustains the universe including society; religion implies belief in a personal God or, as Giddens says, in a supreme being. Actually, as Derrida has pointed B. A. PART-I 81 SOCIOLOGY out in his essay Faith and knowledge (1998), the Indo-European languages did not originally have a common term to denote 'religion'.' Thus many scholars have felt uneasy with the concept of religion because it is western restricted to externals of religion or unable to subsume the diversity of religious beliefs. However, these scholars are not unanimous on whether to retain or discard the concept. Quite a few want to get rid of it altogether and employ Faith (Cantwell Smith), Cosmographies (Dubuisson), Social Formations (McCutcheon), Ethna-Hermeneutics (Armin Geertz), etc. its place. [ii] Others do not reject 'religion' but prefer to use such terms as the Holy (Otto), the Sacred (Eliade) or Power (Van der Leuuw) that supposedly capture the truth or essence of religion in a more satisfactory manner. [iii) Still others want to retain the category of religion but only as a heuristic or taxonomic device. J.Z. Smith follows the last approach in his Imagining Religion (1982), where he writes: "Religion is solely the creation of the scholar's head. It is created for the scholar's analytic purposes by his imaginative acts of comparison and generalization. Religion has no independent existence apart from the academy." 8.3.2 Concept of religion in sociology: Definitional problems In the discipline of sociology, the concept of religion has generally been accepted without any critical interrogation of the kind suggested above. But sociology itself is a modern western science and, therefore, its acceptance of "religion" is no surprise. Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber, to mention only the three all-time greats in sociology, accepted the concept uncritically. That, of course, does not mean that sociology is unaware of or insensitive to non-western cultures. This sensitivity and awareness puts sociology on the horns of a dilemma: How to transform an ethnocentric category such as religion into a general concept? The attempts to solve this conundrum have resulted in a plethora of definitions, typologies and theories of religion in sociology and the allied discipline of social . In a book entitled What is religion? Origins, definitions, and explanations (1999), Brian C. Wilson classified the definitions of religion into four sets. J.G. Platvoet (2000) summarizes his views: Wilson proposes a framework of formal categories for doing the history of the definition of religion by distinguishing four kinds of definition. [i] The first is between lexical and precising definitions, and precising definitions of the descriptive, or analytic, and explanatory, or systematic, kinds. [ii] The second is between nominal and real definitions. [iii] The third is between substantive and functional definitions. [iv] The fourth is between monothetic and polythetic definitions of religion itself. Likewise, one could also speak of essentialist vs. taxonomic, reductionist B. A. PART-I 82 SOCIOLOGY vs. sui generis, symbolic vs. literalist, etic vs. emic, and hermeneutical vs epistemological definitions that have been attempted apropos religion. Indeed, there is no end to definitions of religion and their classifications. This led Stewart Guthrie to make the following remarks in his article Religion: What is it? (1996): Scholars agree broadly that no convincing general theory of religion exists. A quarter century or more after [Clifford] Geertz (1966) called anthropological theory of religion "stagnant," writers in discipline concerned with religion admit that even a definition of the term eludes consensus. To mention just a few, these writers include anthropologists such as Wax, Poole, Saeler, and Boyer; religionists such as Preus, Penner, Lawson, and Masuzawa; sociologists such as Stark and Brainbridge; and philosophers such as McCauley. We have quoted Wilson and Guthrie to highlight how difficult is the definitional problem in regard to religion. Nevertheless, there is no cause for despair. In his book Religion (1982), Leszek Kolakowski says that "In the investigation of human affairs no concepts can be defined with perfect precision and in this respect 'religion' is no worse a position than 'art', 'society', 'culture', 'history', 'politics', 'science', 'language' and countless other words. Any definition of religion has to be arbitrary to certain extent....." It should also be made clear that the etymology of the word religion is not of much in defining religion. For the etymology is both uncertain and vacuous. According to Jacques Derrida (1998, op.cit.), religion (religio) is derived from relegere meaning "to bring together" or alternatively from religere meaning ""to bind together", but-evidently the two meanings remain too vague and general to serve as a basis for a definition of religion. Therefore, we will follow two textbooks - Anthony Giddens Sociology (1998) and Keith A. Roberts' Religion in Sociological Perspective (1984) - to see how the concept of religion is generally defined and understood in sociology. 8.3.3 Definition of religion : The approach of Anthony Giddens According to Giddens, before describing or definid'g what religion is, it is best to clarify what religion is not: This is necessary, he says to avoid 'the pitfalls of culturally biased thinking about religion'. He writes: First religion should not to be identified with monotheism (belief in one God). Most religions involve many deities and in certain religions, there are no gods at all. Second, religion should not be identified with moral prescriptions controlling the behaviour of the believers. The idea that gods are interested in how we behave on this earth is alien to many religions. Third, religion is not necessarily concerned 'with explaining how the world came to be as it is. Many religions have myths of origins, but equally, many do not. B. A. PART-I 83 SOCIOLOGY

Fourth, religion cannot be identified with the supernatural, as intrinsically involving belief in a universe beyond the realm of the senses. Confucianism, for example, is concerned with accepting the natural harmony of the world, not with finding truths that lie behind it. What is Giddens' point? His point is that religion should not be identified with monotheism, moral prescriptions, mythical explanation of origins or supernaturalism. These four features are derived from Semitic religions, particularly Christianity, but are often used to define religion in general. This is not correct, says Giddens, because there are religions in the world, which do not share one or more of these features. The definition should be such as to encompass the great variety of religious beliefs and organisations across the world. Giddens next lays down his own definition of religion: "Religions involve [a] a set of symbols, [b] invoking feelings of reverence or awe, and [c] are linked to rituals or ceremonials (such as church services) [d] engaged in by a community of believers." All religions, claims Giddens, share these characteristics. Clearly, it is not symbols or rituals, but the feelings of reverence or awe in relation to some object or being that constitutes, for Giddens, the differentia of religion. However, in his Theories of Primitive Religion (1965), Evans-Pritchard had already declared the emotion of awe or reverence unsuitable for distinguishing the religious from the non-religious, He wrote: "What is this awe which some of the writer say is characteristic of the sacred? Some say it is the specific religious emotion; others that there is no specific religious emotion. Either way how does one know whether a person experiences awe or thrill or whatever it may be? How does one recognize it, and how does one measure it? Moreover, as Lowie admits and others have often pointed out, the same emotional states may be found in forms of behaviour which are quite different, and even opposed, as for example in the behaviour of a pacifist and a militarist. Only chaos would result were anthropologists to classify social phenomena by emotions...." Thus, Giddens' definition or characterization of religion is useful, but flawed and imperfect. Could there be a perfect definition of religion? Perhaps not, but let us see how Keith Roberts deals with the matter in his book already cited. 8.3.4 Definition of religion: The approach of Keith Roberts Keith Roberts discerns three types of definition of religion in sociological literature: substantive, functional, and symbolic. In the substantive category, he includes the definitions given by E.B. Tylor and Emile Durkheim; in the functional and symbolic types respectively, those of Yinger and Clifford Geertz. 8.4 Substantive definitions Substantive definitions try to identify a universal essence or substance of religion, which is held to be its hallmark. Since religions vary quite a deal across B. A. PART-I 84 SOCIOLOGY space and time, substantive definitions tend to be either too restricted or too abstract. As examples, Roberts discusses the definitions of E.B. Tylor and Durkheim. Edward B. Tylor is known for his animistic theory of religion that he propounded in his book Primitive Culture (1871). It was in this book that he offered his minimal definition of religion as "a belief in spiritual beings". Thus, belief in spirits is for Tylor the essence of religion. It was a misunderstanding of certain psycho-physical phenomena such as dreams, reflections, sleep and death on the part of early man that first gave rise to the idea of soul and thence to those of spirits and deities. In sum, Tylor associates religion with belief in supernaturalism. There is a long list of anthropologists and sociologists who have followed Tylor's definition in One way or another. M.Spiro (1966), for instance, offers the following definition of religion: "An institution consisting of culturally patterned interaction with culturally postulated superhuman beings." Meredith B. McGuire (1981) adds: "Other substantive definitions use similar concepts, including "non- human agencies", "supernatural realm", "super-empirical reality", "transcendent reality" and "sacred cosmos"." Emile Durkheiin rejected Tylor's definition on the ground that there are religions such as Theravada Buddhism that did not believe in supernatural beings or powers. In his The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (1912), Durkheim gave an alternative definition of religion in terms of the dichotomy of the sacred versus the profane as follows: "A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden which unite into a single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them." Every society or culture divides the world into sacred and profane domains. Things which are held to be sacred are set apart and forbidden by explicit injunctions. According to Durkheim, religion is a system of beliefs and practices concerned with 8a~s. Magic too is sacred, but unlike religion it does not have a church. Thus, [a] sacredness, [b] beliefs and rites, and [c] a community of followers form, for Durkheim, the three sides of the religious triangle. However, Durkheim has been faulted for making the dichotomy of the sacred and the profane overly rigid. Mircea Eliade (1961) follows Durkheim in defining religion as "experience of the sacred", but unlike Durkheim his "sacred" is more supernatural than social. Another thinker who brings together the sacred and the supernatural in his definition is Peter Berger (1967). "Religion is the enterprise," writes he, "by which a sacred cosmos is established. Put differently, religion is cosmization in a sacred mode." Roger Caillois (1959) had anticipated both Eliade and Berger when he wrote that "The dichotomy of sacred and profane is the invariable par excellence in the religious life of man." B. A. PART-I 85 SOCIOLOGY

It is worth mentioning that in the opening section (1.2) of this Lesson, we have used a substantive definition of religion as our starting point in order to place the sociological approach to religion in perspective. But there are other types of definition in contention. 8.4.1 Functional definitions As the name suggests, functional definition of religion defines religion In terms of its functions; it focuses not on what religion is but on what it does. Roberts selects Milton Yinger's definition of religion as an instance of functional definition. In his book The Scientific Study of Religion published in 1970, Yinger defines religion "as a system of beliefs and practices by means of which a group of people struggles with [the] ultimate problem~ of human life." The ultimate problems are the purpose of life and the meaning of death, suffering, evil, and injustice. Religion provides answers to these problems and helps individuals overcome the feelings of despair and futility. As Keith Roberts duly notes, in formulating his definition of religion, Yinger draws heavily on Max Weber's and Paul Tillich's view of religion. Weber in particular had emphasised the cognitive and emotional reassurance that humans derive from religion in the face of suffering, death, evil, etc. Yinger's definition is all inclusive : Any belief system - whether derived from religion in the Substantive sense, political ideologies or science - that provides a framework of meaning to human groups is religious! Thus, in Yinger's view, the ideology of nationalism, or positivism is religious to the extent it serves as the basis of a group's belief system. Human beings need belief systems of one kind or another to sustain them. Therefore, religions only change; they do not really decline or disappear. Many scholars have preferred a functional definition of religion. One could mention H. R. Niebuhr for instance. Keith Roberts himself is sympathetic to Yinger's viewpoint. But, as McGuire has remarked, "Sociologists using functional definitions need to show why they include phenomena that participants themselves do not consider to be religious." 8.4.2 Symbolic definitions Some scholars have emphasised above all the symbolic character of religion; for them religion is a system of symbols, which are at once sacred and functional. One such scholar is Clifford Geertz, whose definition Roberts chooses to focus upon. In his famous essay Religion as a cultural system (1966), Geertz defines religion thus: Religion is (1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish pervasive, and long- lasting moods and motivations in [people] by (3) formulating conceptions B. A. PART-I 86 SOCIOLOGY of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic. Religious symbols encapsulate a worldview, which is able to induce in people enduring dispositions. As Roberts notes, Geertz's definition is at heart functional; it is called symbolic only because of its strong emphasis on the role of symbols in religious life. Unfortunately, Roberts completely ignores Claude Levi-Strauss' view of religion as a symbolic system. Geertz himself had attached great importance to Levi-Strauss' symbolic view of religion in his article on religion in the International encyclopedia of the social sciences Geertz (l 968) writes that for Levi-Strauss: Religion, primitive or modern, can be understood only as an integrated system of thought Logically sound, epistemologically valid, and as flourishing in France as in Tahiti. Myth, and in a slightly different way, rite are systems of signs [Le. symbols] that fix and organize abstract conceptual relationships in terms of concrete images and thus make speculative thought possible. They permit the construction of a "science of the concrete" - the intellectual comprehension of the sensible world in terms of sensible phenomena - which is no less rational, no less logical, no more affect-driven than the abstract science of the modern world. Conclusion It is time to conclude. There is a great variety of definitions of religion with their merits and demerits. They stress the supernatural, the sacred, the social or the psychological character and role of religion. The definitions derive from their authors' general theoretical positions in relation to religion and since the theoretical positions are varied, so too are the definitions of religion. 8.5 Aspects of religion The definitions of religion discussed above point to the different aspects of religion such as symbols, beliefs and rituals; experience of awe; and the church implying a community of believers. To be sure, as in the case of definitions, unanimity on the essential aspects or dimensions of religion is missing in sociological literature. The difficulties in specifying aspects of religion stem once again from the great diversity of religious forms in the world. It will be opportune to avoid controversies and follow Meredith McGuire in delineating the main aspects of religion. In her book Religion: The social context, McGuire (1981, op. cit.) mentions four aspects 0f religion, namely, [a] Religious Belief [b] Religious Ritual, [c] Religious Experience, and [d] Religious Community. They are discussed below briefly. 8.5.1 Religious belief McGuire makes the following points about religious beliefs: B. A. PART-I 87 SOCIOLOGY

[i] Every religion has an essential cognitive aspect. The religion shapes what the adherent knows about the world. This cosmic knowledge organizes the individual's perceptions of the world and serves as a basis for action. [ii] Most of us are quite familiar with formal religious beliefs... The entire enterprise of theology out of which formal beliefs are developed represents a highly specialized and intellectualized approach to religion. But religion also includes less formal kinds of beliefs such as myths, images, norms, values. [iii] Religious beliefs are not mere abstractions that are irrelevant to everyday life. People use their beliefs to make choices, interpret events, and plan actions. [iv] Religious beliefs also inform the individual what action is good and desirable or bad to be avoided. Religious beliefs constitute the cognitive or intellectual aspect of religion. They define the relationship between the divine, the supernatural or the transcendental, on one side, and man and nature, on the other. Religious beliefs may be formal like theology or informal like myths; images, norms and values, but in all events they have the status of "true knowledge" for the adherents of a religious tradition and determine how individuals perceive, interpret, judge, and act in the world. The diversity of religious beliefs across the world is staggering indeed and many taxonomies have been evolved to introduce some order into this diversity. Religions have been classified into natural vs. revealed, ethnic/national vs. world, official vs. folk and popular, extrinsic versus intrinsic, implicit vs explicit, individual vs. institutional, visible vs invisible, etc. Concepts such as monism, monotheism, polytheism, pantheism and panentheism have also been used to classify higher religions. Likewise, concepts of fetishism, animism, animatism and totemism have been used to classify the so-called primitive religions. 8.5.2 Religious ritual Religious ritual is stylised symbolic action which serves as a means of communication or communion with the supernatural or the sacred. Here is McGuire on religious ritual: [i] Whereas beliefs represent the cognitive aspect of religion, ritual is the enactment of religious meaning. The two are closely intertwined. Beliefs of the religious group give meaning and shape to ritual performances. Ritual enactments strengthen and reaffirm the group's beliefs. They are ways of symbolizing unity of the group and, at the same time, of contributing to it. B. A. PART-I 88 SOCIOLOGY

[ii] Various religious groups place different emphasis on ritual...The use of symbolism, such as processions, sacraments, candles, ikons, and chanting, aids the collective remembering of the group's shared meanings. [iii] The content of an act is not what makes it a ritual act; rather, it is the symbolic meaning attached to the act by participants. [iv] Ritual performed for its own sake, empty of meaning for participants, had led to the notion that ritual itself is deadening. [v] Ritual words and ceremonies can evoke experience of awe, mystery, wonder, and delight. Religious ritual is the cultic dimension of religion; it is the enactment of religious beliefs. Liturgy or form of worship is one instance of religious ritual. However, rituals have quite distinct ends such as initiation, purification, expiation, or mystical union. Religions differ in the emphasis they lay upon ritual, but faith, knowledge and ritual are integral to all religions, Ritual enactments reflect as well as reinforce collective beliefs and solidarity; above all, they evoke experience of awe and mystery. 8.5.3 Religious experience It is not easy to understand or describe religious experience, which is central to religion. Since McGuire's description of religious experience does not take us very far, we shall follow two sociologists - Joachim Wach and Thomas F. O'Dea who have written illuminatingly on the subject. In his book, Types of Religious Experience, Wach (1951) suggests four universal criteria by which religious experience can be recognised: [i] [Religion] is a response to what is experienced as ultimate reality; that is, in religious experience we react not to any single or finite phenomenon, material or otherwise, but to what we realize as undergirding and conditioning all that constitutes our world of experience. [ii] Religious experience is a total response of the total being to what is apprehended as ultimate reality. ~hat is, we are involved not exclusively with our mind, our affections or our will, but as integral persons. [iii] Religious experience is the most intense experience of which man is capable... The modern term "existential" designates the profound concern and the utter seriousness of this experience. B. A. PART-I 89 SOCIOLOGY

[iv] Religious experience involves an imperative, a commitment which impels man to act. This activistic note distinguishes it from aesthetic experience, with which it shares the intensity, and joins it with moral experience. Moral judgement, however, does not necessarily represent a reaction to ultimate reality. Thus, religious experience is the experience of ultimate reality; it involves the total being of man; it is most intense; and it impels man to act, Wach's four- fold criteria get further elucidated in the O'Dea's exposition. In his very useful book The sociology of religion, O'Dea exposes the character of religious experience as follows: The religious experience is an encounter with a beyond, with a power beyond the appearances of things and events, with an ultimate power seen as ground of existence. Such an ultimate ground of being is experienced through empirical things and events; it is experienced as sacred - that is, as eliciting intense awe and exercising a strong attraction. We have also seen that out of the religious experience, beliefs, practices, and religious organizations evolve, answering basic questions through their belief systems and providing means of adjustment through a relationship to the beyond. The religious experience is an experience at the breaking point, at what can be called the limit situation, where man propelled either by thought or by events of life, breaks through the here-and-now. At the limit situation, man achieves a degree of transcendence confronting a beyond. This beyond is experienced as sacred and is responded to with corresponding ambivalence. It is attractive and fascinating, albeit daunting and even threatening. [a] Man, propelled by thought or events of life, [b] reaches the limit situation [c] where he breaks -through the here-and-now and encounters the beyond, [d] which is experienced as sacred and awesome, fascinating and threatening at the same time. [e] It is out of religious experience that beliefs, rituals and organizations - the three other aspects of religion - arise, "answering basic questions and providing means of adjustment through a relationship to the beyond." 8.5.4 Religious community Religion, in particular institutionalised religion, is always a group phenomenon and, therefore, presupposes a community of believers. Religious rituals reflect and affirm the presence of a religious community, which may be formally or informally organized. McGuire points out that "Formal specialization of a group into an organization such as a church is a relatively recent historical development." O'Dea (op. cit.) puts a gloss: "In primitive societies, religion is broadly diffused among the numerous activities and social relationships of the B. A. PART-I 90 SOCIOLOGY society. Two factors tend to promote a change from the primitive and archaic situation of diffuse religion and the identity of religious and other social groups to specifically religious organizations. First, there is the increasing inner differentiation of the total society ... Second, there is enriching of religious experience which eventuates in the foundation of new religious organizations of various kinds." The mainstream religious organization of a community is known as church. When the church becomes accommodative and makes compromises with the social order instead of changing it, two protest groups arise: sect and cult. The sect questions the conservative social role of the church; the cult, on the other hand, shows dissatisfaction with the standardised liturgy laid down by the church. In due course, when a sect too turns conservative, it is transformed into a denomination. This typology of religious organizations, viz., church, sect, cult and denomination derives from Ernst Troeltsch's The Social Teaching of the Christian Churches (1911), but has a more general validity. 8.6 Religion and magic The preceding sections have set forth the meaning as well as the various aspects of religion. Before describing the functions of religion, it will be apt to clarify, even if briefly, the distinction between religion and magic. Are they identical or different? Views differ. One approach is to lump magic and religion together as Lucien Levy-Bruhl does in his Primitive Mentality (1923). According to Levy-Bruhl, both magic and religion signify prelogical or primitive mentality, which is governed by the law of mystical participation and is orientated to the supernatural. In contrast, modern science represents the logical mentality, which seeks the causes of phenomena in natural processes. Levy-Bruhl collapses magic and religion as the two share the fundamental belief in imperceptible influences and forces. Durkheim and Malinowski tread a different path and distinguish religion from magic. For Durkheim (op.cit.), religion is communal because its followers, bound together by shared belief, form a church. Magic on the other hand involves no permanent ties between believers and only temporary ties between individuals and the magicians who perform services for them. Bronislaw Malinowski, the great social anthropologist of Polish descent, draws the line between religion and magic in a different manner. In his Magic, science and religion and other essays (edited by Robert Redfield, 1948), Malinowski contends that both magic and religion are instruments for disarming man's anxieties born of ais impotence vis-à-vis nature, fate, death and other life crises. But the two are not identical: whereas magic is utilitarian, religion has no utility, but is an end in itself. A. Malefijt (1968) explains: B. A. PART-I 91 SOCIOLOGY

Like Frazer and Durkheim, [Malinowski] makes a clear-cut distinction between magic and religion and indeed sees them as having different functions, although he also notes their similarities. Magic and religion are alike in that both arise from universally experienced emotional stress - man's realization of his inability to control nature. Both also are based on mythological tradition, and both are surrounded by taboos which set them apart as sacred. But whereas magic is utilitarian and instrumental, always directed to a clearly stated end, religion has no utility but is an end in itself. In conclusion, we would like to quote Keith Roberts (op.cit.) on the distinction between religion and magic. "Many criteria have been used," writes Roberts "to discriminate between religion and magic. In the listing below, some of the differences are juxtaposed. Various scholars have emphasized one or more of these factors." Here is Roberts' list: Religion Magic 1. Sense of a group of common believers: 1. No church or group consciousness a church. 2. Moral ethos, or a system of ethics to 2. No moral ethos or systematic pattern guide behaviour. of ethics. 3. Rites are meaningful; they reinforce 3. Rites are not necessarily meaningful; patterns of belief. they are used to spell or make something happen. 4. Rites occur calendrically (on regular 4. Rites occur at critical (crisis) times. basis each week, month, and/or year). 5. Functions for both the individual 5. Functions only for individuals, not and the structure for social structure. 6. Participation is open; leader leads 6. Leader is only one to know ritual and entire group in performance of ritual. how to perform it; others are passive. 7. Worship of transcendent Being or 7. Manipulation of impersonal, Power as intrinsically worthy of transcendent power for utilitarian one's attention.reasons. Check Your Progress 1 Notes: i. Use space below for your answers. ii. Compare your answers with those given at the end of this lesson. What are the basic components of Religion. ______B. A. PART-I 92 SOCIOLOGY

How does Durkheim distinguish between the sacred and the profane? ______What are the various aspects of religion? ______Are religion and magic the same or different in Malinowski's view? ______8.7 FUNCTIONS AND DYSFUNCTIONS OF RELIGION In describing the functions of religion, we will follow Thomas F.O'Dea (op. cit.) O'Dea mentions six functions of religion for individual and society. Interestingly, corresponding to each of the six positive functions is a dysfunction of religion. How and why a positive function turns dysfunctional is still not very clear. O'Dea writes: "What is needed is much more precise and detailed knowledge of the conditions in which and the mechanisms through which this dialectical transformation of positive into ambiguous or negative functions takes place. This is an area into which much more empirical research is needed." The six functions with their corresponding dysfunctions are as follows. 8.7.1 Religion provides emotional consolation Religion provides support, consolation, and reconciliation. Men need emotional support in the face of uncertainty, consolation when confronted with disappointment and reconciliation with society when alienated from its goals... In doing this, it supports established values and goals, reinforces morale and helps to minimize disaffection. Human condition is characterised by contingency, powerlessness and scarcity, says O'Dea. Time and again humans face defeat, disappointment, and anxiety. Religion offers them succour in the face of these elements. Prayers and rites endow man with confidence and hope in a situation of uncertainty; notions of divine will and fate help him understand and bear his misfortunes bravely; and the hope of just reward in the next world or birth enables him to cope with injustices in this world. In thus providing emotional aid and minimising disaffection, religion directly or indirectly supports the existing moral and social order. B. A. PART-I 93 SOCIOLOGY

But emotional aid can be dysfunctional too. Writes O'Dea :- Religion may be dysfunctional through its provision of emotional 'consolation and its role in bringing reconciliation. In consoling those who are frustrated and deprived and those who have little or no stake in the; social order as it exists, and by reconciling those who are alienated from society, religion may inhibit protest and act as a force impeding social changes which would prove beneficial to the welfare of society and its members. The provision of emotional consolation can prove dysfunctional if it inhibits protest and thereby impedes social change. In such circumstances, as Marx indicated, religion acts as an opiate of the masses. 8.7.2 Religion contributes to social stability and order Religion offers a transcendental relationship through cult and the ceremonies of worship, and thereby provides the emotional ground for a new security and firmer identity amid the uncertainties and impossibilities of the human condition and the flux and change of history. Through its authoritative teaching of beliefs and values, it also provides established points of reference amid the conflicts and ambiguities of human opinions and points of view. This priestly function of religion contributes to stability, to order, and often to the maintenance of the status quo. O'Dea mentions three situations in which man may feel lost: [a] uncertainties and impossibilities of the human condition; [b] flux and change of history; and [c] conflicts and ambiguities of human opinions. In situations of uncertainty, change, and conflicting opinions, religion provides a stable point of reference to which man can turn for help and direction. By virtue of their transcendental and sacred nature, religious beliefs and values have authority and they are able to provide the emotional ground for a new security and firmer identity. This priestly function, as O'Dea calls it, contributes to social stability and order. The priestly function, however, can also turn negative and harmful. Surrender to religion may inhibit further progress in human thought and knowledge. In the performance of the priestly function, with its relationship to a transcendental reference, religion can sacralize 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. B. A. PART-I 94 SOCIOLOGY

8.7.3 Religion sacralizes norms and values Religion sacralizes the norms and values, contributing to social control; legitimates the allocation patterns of the society, thereby aiding order and stability; and aids in the reconciliation of the disaffected. O'Dea says that religion sacralizes the norms (rules) and values (ideals) of an established society, that is, renders them sacred. To steal or to kill, for example, is not only criminal but also sinful; the norms and values in this case have religious sanction. When religion sanctifies norms and values, it performs three positive functions for society: First, it ensures social control and checks deviance; second, "it reinforces the legitimation of the division of functions, facilities and rewards characteristic of a given society"; and third, it brings the disaffected back into the fold of society. How does religion reconcile the disaffected to society? It allows those who have deviated or sinned to expiate, get rid of their guilt and return to the social fold. Can sacralization of norms and values have dysfunctions? Yes, says O'Dea: "In sacralization of the norms and values of society, a religion can make norms of behaviour, which evolved in certain specific circumstances and which lose their appropriateness under changed conditions, appear to have eternal significance. In this way it can impede a more functionally appropriate adaptation of society to changing conditions. 8.7.4 Religion also performs critical or prophetic function Religion may also provide standards of value in terms of which institutionalized norms may be critically examined and found seriously wanting. This is especially likely to be true with respect to religions which emphasize the transcendence of God, and his consequent superiority to and independence of established authorities in society ... we call this the prophetic function. The prophetic function is often a source of important social protest against established forms and conditions. Religion sacralizes values and norms and thereby lends stability to society. But, as O'Dea points out, religion can also inspire social protest against stabilised forms and conditions. All prophets including Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad and Guru Nanak were, in one manner or another, social critics and revolutionaries in their own times. To the extent religion challenges existing institutions, it performs the prophetic function. Religion is able to perform this function because it enshrines transcendental values of truth, love and justice and can judge institutionalized norms in terms of these values. Again, prophetic function, too, can have negative consequences: B. A. PART-I 95 SOCIOLOGY

But this function may have its dysfunctional consequences. Prophetic criticism may become so unrealistic that it beclouds genuine issues. Prophetic demands for reform may be so utopian that they constitute an obstacle in the working out of more practical action. In its concern with a transcendent rule of justice, prophetic religion may set up standards which are untimely. In its tendency to see its demands as the will of God, it may impart extremism to the conflict that renders composition through compromise impossible. In short, according to O'Dea, prophetic criticism may be both unrealistic and impractical and, as a result, it may embroil the system in fatal conflicts and may even paralyse it altogether. 8.7.5 Religion performs important identity functions Individuals, by their acceptance of the values involved in religion and the beliefs about human nature and destiny associated with them, develop important aspects of their own self-definition and self- understanding. Also by their participation in religious ritual and worship, they act out significant elements of their identity. In these ways religion affects the individuals' understanding of who they are and what they are. Religion forms the identity of individuals at two interrelated levels: as humans and as members of a religious community. By internalising religious values and by participating in religious ritual and worship, individuals come to learn what it means to be human vis-à-vis God and nature and what it means to be members of a religious community vis-à-vis other communities. In other words, they come to know what they are and who they are. This self-understanding shapes their world-view and life-world, their affiliations and loyalties. In what way can this identity function turn negative? Writes O'Dea: With respect to the identity function, religion may become the object of loyalties which impede the development of new identities more appropriate to the new situations in which people find themselves. Religious identification may prove divisive to societies. Religious loyalties can impede the formation of new and more appropriate identities and they can prove divisive to societies. 8.7.6 Religion helps in the growth and maturation of the individual Religion is related to the growth and maturation of the individual and his passage through the various age gradings distinguished by his society. Psychologists have shown that individual growth passes through a series of encounters characteristic of the various age levels of men, a series of encounters from infancy to death... B. A. PART-I 96 SOCIOLOGY

Religion sacralizes norms and ends; it supports the disciplines of society in important respects; it offers support in uncertainty, consolation in disappointment and defeat; it contributes to the developing identity of the individual. Obviously, in all these ways, it involves in the learning process. The rites of passage - the rituals of birth, puberty, marriage and death exemplify best how religion helps in the growth and maturation of the individual. These rites not only effect the smooth transition of the individual from one stage or state of life to another, they also make him aware of his new identity and obligation and prepare him for the new status and role. However, sometimes religion may play the opposite role and institutionalise immaturity. As O'Dea puts it: "Religion often plays the role of institutionalising immaturity and develops in its adherents dependence upon religious institutions and their leaders instead of an ability to assume individual responsibility and self-direction." Check Your Progress 2 Notes: i. Use space below for your answers. ii. Compare your answers with those given at the end of this lesson. What is meant by 'function' and 'dysfunction'. ______Mention any three functions of religion. ______What is meant by sacralization of norms? ______8.8 Let Us Sum Up This lesson has examined some problems with the concept of religion before explaining the meaning and functions of religion from the sociological viewpoint. In clarifying the meaning of religion, the various definitions and aspects of religion have been looked into. The relationship between religion and magic, too, has been elucidated, even if briefly. The last section is devoted to the functions and dysfunctions of religion. The six positive functions of religion are spelt out along with their potential dysfunctional consequences. The limitations of space have not permitted us to go into the theories or explanations of religion. The interested student can find some of the important theories of religion in Giddens' B. A. PART-I 97 SOCIOLOGY textbook entitled Sociology. 8.9 Key words Animism: Animism is "belief in spiritual beings", which is Tylor's minimal definition of religion. Church, sect and cult: These are types of religious organisation. The mainstream religious organisation of a community is known as church. When the church becomes accommodative and makes compromises with the social order instead of changing it, protest groups arise in the form of sects. The sect questions the compromising and conservative role of the church; the cult, on the other hand, shows dissatisfaction with the standardised liturgy laid down by the church. Feelings of awe: Used by Giddens and many others before him as the distinctive feature' of religion or religious experience. Awe is a very complex emotion involving reverence, fear, attraction, repulsion; etc. Functions and dysfunctions of religion: Respectively the positive and the negative role of religion in relation to society. Functions are positive; dysfunctions are negative. Functional definition of religion: Functional definitions define religion in terms of its functions; they focus not on what religion is but on what it does. Priestly function of religion: The priestly function of religion is to maintain the status quo. Prophetic function of religion: Religion enshrines sacred and transcendental values. When religion criticises and subverts institutionalised norms in terms of transcendental values, it performs the prophetic function. Religious experience as sui generis: Some (e.g. Eliade) hold religion or religious experience be sui generis, that is, of its own kind, which cannot be reduced to psychology, sociology, etc. Sacred and profane: According to Durkheim, every society or culture divides the world into sacred and profane domains. Things which are held to be sacred are set apart and forbidden by explicit injunctions. Religion is a system of beliefs and practices concerned with sacred things, says Durkheim. Substantive definition of religion: Substantive definitions try to identify a universal essence or substance of religion, which is held to be its hallmark. 8.10 Model Answers to Check Your Progress Check Your Progress 1 1. Basic components of Religion are : (i) Belief in Supernatural Forces (ii) Man's Adjustment with the Supernatural Forces (iii) Act, Defined as Righteous and Sinful or sacred and profane. (iv) Some methods of Salvation. B. A. PART-I 98 SOCIOLOGY

2. According to Durkheim, every society or culture divides the world into sacred and profane domains_ Things which are held to be sacred are set apart and forbidden by explicit injunctions. Religion is a system of beliefs and practices concerned with sacred things, says Durkheim. 3. According to Meredith, McGuire, the fours aspects of religion are: religion belief, religious ritual, religious experience and religious community. According to Wach, religious experience is the experience of ultimate reality; it involves the total being of man; it is most intense; and it impels man to act. 4. Malinowski contends that both magic and religion are instruments for disarming man's anxieties born of his impotence vis-à-vis nature, fate, death and other life crises. But the two are not identical: whereas magic is utilitarian; religion has no utility, but is an end in itself. Check Your Progress 2 1. Function is the positive role, while dysfunction is the negative role that religion plays in relation to society. 2. Religion [i] provides emotional consolation, [ii] contributes to social stability and order and [iii] sacralizes social norms. 3. To sacralize social norms means to sanctify social rules and regulations or render them sacred. 8.11 Further Readings - Giddens, A. 2001. Sociology. Polity. - McGuire, M. B. 1981. Religion: The Social Context. Wadsworth Publishing Company. - O'Dea, T.F. 1966, The Sociology of Religion. Prentice-Hall. - Roberts, K. A. 1984. Religion in Sociological Perspective. The Dorsey Press. B. A. PART-I SOCIOLOGY Semester-II

Unit- 1 and 2

Lesson No. : Unit- 1 1.1 : Social Interaction & Social Processes (Integrative Processes) 1.2 : Disintegrative Social Processes 1.3 : Social Group 1.4 : Types of Groups

Unit- 2 2.1 : Marriage and its Types 2.2 : Family : Meaning, Types and Functions 2.3 : Kinship : Meaning and Functions 2.4 : Religion : Meaning and Functions 2.5 : Social Control : Meaning, Significance and Agencies 2.6 : Social Deviance : Meaning, Characteristics, Forms and Factors

NOTE : Students can download the syllabus from department’s website www.dccpbi.com