Religion and Indian society

India and Religion

Religion is believed to be a purely personal matter. That is why religion has an important place in the life of an individual. Because it satisfies the social, psychological and spiritual needs of individual. It performs many valuable services and functions for both individual and society. In other words religion has both individual and social aspects. It performs many social 

Sociologists like Emile Durkheim, Max-weber, Parsons and others have emphasised the social importance of religion. But at the same time there are some other sociologists like KarlMarx, Sumner, Gillin and Gillin speaks about the negative roles of religion.

Hence religion has both positive and negative roles. In other words religion has both functions as well as dysfunctions. However, some functions and positive roles of religion are described below: Famous Sociologist A. W. Green speaks about three universal functions or roles of religion such as:

(1) Religion Rationalizes and Makes Bearable Individual Suffering in the Known World:

By soothing the emotions of man in times of suffering and disappointments religion contributes to the integration of his personality. In the midst of all hopes and achievements man often suffer from disappointment and sufferings due to non ­fulfillment of worldly desires. Religion console and compensate him and helps him to bear his frustrations and integrate his personality. Religion sustains his interest in life and make bearable all individual sufferings.

(2)Religions enhances importance:

Religion widens one’s self to the maximum extent. It enables man to unite himself with the Almighty and his self is made triumphant. He considers himself as the noblest creation of God.

Being influenced by religion he looks towards the positive side of everything which further expands his self. Religion assures him a greater reward in after life.

(3) Religion brings social cohesion:

Religion helps to kint the social values of a society into a cohesive whole. A social value comes from religious faith and it is the foundation on which social values rest. Religion teaches the values of love, service and discipline. Besides values like children should obey their parents, people should be honest and virtuous, women should be faithful to men etc. brings cohesion in society. By the common possession of these values individual controls the actions of self and others and thereby led to the perpetuation of society. Thus religion is the ultimate source of social cohesion.

(4) Religion acts as an agency of social control:

The most noteworthy role of religion is that it acts as an important agency of social control. It exercises control over individual behavior and on society. Religion regulates the behavior of people in its own way. Different religious organizations like temple, church, Mosques etc. exercises control over individual behavior at different levels. It check the deviant tendencies of man. By the method of reward and punishment it exercises greater control over individual’s behavior.

(5) Religion acts as an agency of socialization:

Religion not only exercises control over individual behavior but also socializes him from the very beginning. It insulates different virtues in him. It socializes him as per the norms of society.

(6)Religion brings social welfare:

Every religion believes in the principle that “Service to humanity is service to God”. It teaches people to serve the masses and help the poor and needy. Every religion teaches it’s followers to give alms to the poor and spend some amount of one’s income for the needy and the destitute. It creates Philanthropic attitude among the people. Being guided by this different religious organizations, pious people engage themselves in different welfare activities. By this way religion became able to promote individual and social welfare.

(7) Religion establishes Solidarity in Society:

Every religion gives stress on mutual co-operation and the spirit of brotherhood. Followers of a particular religion have common belief, common sentiment and participate in common ritual which integrates them. Durkheim opines that religion brings solidarity in society.

(8) Religion provides peace of mind:

Religion consoles people at the time of crisis. At the time of failure and danger religion act as a ray of hope for people and there by brings peace of mind. It creates self-confidence in man and enables him to face the problems of life with courage and strength.

(9) Religion promotes literature:

Religion greatly contributes to the growth of art, music and literature. Intense desire to please God for personal benefits led people to extol them in devotional song, painting, architecture and sculpture. This led to the creation of beautiful temple, mosques and finest music and paintings.

(10)Religion provides opportunity for friendship and healthy 

recreation:

At the time of religious gatherings and festivals people meet each other and friendship develops among them. Every religion organizes bhajana and kirtans, religious lectures which provides mental peace and pleasure to people. All these provide for healthy recreation to people.

(11) Religion influences economic life:

Famous Sociologist Max Weber opines that religion deeply influences and determines economic life of people. He observed how protestant faith of Christian religion led to the development of capitalism in the countries practicing protestant faith and not among countries following other faiths.

(12) Religion controls the behavior of its followers through preaching’s, teachings, festivals and community activities.

(13) Religion propagate social harmony and unity through education and social welfare.

(14) Religion influences political system of the country. Religion played significant role in the ancient and medieval political systems. Kings and Emperor was worshipped like God and they were considered as the representative of God on earth. Even at present religion directly or indirectly influences the political activities of different countries. Ex-Pakistan.

(15) Religion also directs scientific invention and discoveries and thereby promotes science.

(16) Malinowski opines that religion serves as a tool of adaptation. It provides mental stability to individual’s life.

(17) Religion plays an important role in organizing, planning and directing social life.

These are different positive roles or functions performed by religion as an important social institution.

Negative Roles of Religion Today:

No doubt religion performs many positive roles in society and act as an integrating or unifying force in human society. But at the same time religion has many dysfunctions or performs many negative roles which destablishes and disintegrates society. However, some of the negative roles of religion are:

(1) Religion hinders social and economic progress. Religion makes people dogmatic and superstitious as a result of which people oppose all kinds of scientific discoveries and technological advancement. It divides society into different sections.

(2) Religion makes people fatalistic. Instead of human effort and worship they start believing on God’s desire and believe that everything is predestined. This kind of thinking make them idle and thereby the progress of society is hampered.

(3) Religion encourages exploitation. Marx opines that religion is the root cause of exploitation. In the name of religion and God one section of society exploits others and inculcate the idea among the exploited that they are defined to suffer because of their previous karma. God made them so and no one can alter their condition.

(4) Religion creates poverty, slavery and untouchability in society. People do not try to improve their condition because God wanted them to be in that position. Religion makes a section of people untouchable which disintegrates society.

(5) Religion promotes different types of evil practices like animal sacrifice, customs of sati, caste system, untouchability etc.

(6) Religion promotes communalism by creating intolerance, mistrust, hatred and jealousy among people. Because of this different religious groups got involved in different kinds of conflict which leads to communalism and communal riots.

(7) Marx opines that religion is the opium of the masses which keeps them in degrading subjection.

(8) Religion creates dogmatism and bigotism and thereby denying freedom of thought.

(9) Religion retards the advance of science and suppressed the democratic aspirations of common people.

(10) Religion favored war and poverty in society.

(11) Religion creates political instability in society by entangling itself with politics. Different political parties are exploiting the religious card to create vote banks.

Shrishail kp