Religion is a cultural universal. It consists of beliefs and behavior
concerned with supernatural beings, powers, and forces. Cross-cultural studies
have revealed many expressions and functions of religion. These include explanatory,
emotional, social, and ecological functions. People may use magic to try to influence outcomes over which they have no technical
or rational control. Religion can provide comfort and psychological security
at times of crisis. But rites also can create anxiety. Rituals are formal, invariant,
earnest acts that require people to join actively in a social collectivity.
Rites of passage may mark any change in social status, age, place, or social
condition. Collective rituals often are cemented by communities, a feeling of
intense fellowship and solidarity. Religion establishes and maintains social control. It does this through a series
of moral and ethical beliefs, along with real and imagined rewards and punishments,
internalized in individuals. Religion also achieves social control by mobilizing
its members for collective action. Although it maintains social order, religion
also can promote change. Religious movements aimed at the revitalization of
society have helped people cope with changing conditions. A growing religious diversity in the United States and Canada is related to
age, region, and congregation. Contemporary religious trends include both rising
secularism and a resurgence of religious fundamentalism. Some of today's new
religions are inspired by science and technology; others, by spiritualism. Rituals
can be secular as well as religious. |
2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education