Functionalism and Conflict theorist Approach to Education and Religion
Several theoretical approaches are used when evaluating education and religion in society. The contemporary sociologists are often applying great theoretical viewpoint concerning religion and education. Such theoretical views are providing various lenses used for researching and understanding of community. For instance, feminist theory, symbolic interactions, conflict theory, and functionalism. The perspective of conflict theory is going contrary to the functionalist theory since conflict theorist believes that society has various social groups that have many aspirations, different access to the life chances as well as gaining various social recompenses or rewards. According to Conflict theorist, social relations are based mainly on oppression, exploitation, and domination. Conflict theorists are giving a more cynical society picture. The paper is considering the description of religion from educational institutions through functionalists as well as conflict theories of approaches.
Functionalists Perspective on Religious Institution
The functionalists are contending that religion is serving various functions or roles in society. Religion is very dependent on the society or community for its values, existence, and significance, among others. Functionalist perspective shows that religion is serving various roles, such as the provision of answers to mysteries in the spiritual world; religion offers comforts in terms of emotional stability. Therefore it creates an avenue for social control and interactions. In the provision of answers, religion is defining vspheres and vwhich include, the divine being. For instance, religion aids in answering questions like how was the World created, the reason for suffering in the society and world at large, and questions regarding whether there is the plan for human lives and whether an afterlife exists in the real sense or people die forever (Wright 20). Religion is also providing emotional stability and comfort during the time of crisis and enable people in the society to tackle anxiety and problems with positive energy and vigor, knowing that better things are yet to come.
The religious rituals give a sense of comfort, order, and organization through the shared familiar symbols and behavior patterns. The most crucial function of religious institutions from the perspective of functionalists is the provision of opportunities for social interactions and group formation. The religious institution is providing the social support as well as networking by offering an avenue for meeting other individuals who are holding similar values and provision of material and spiritual help for the members who are in need—religious institutions in fostering group integration and cohesion. Religion is central to the self-concept of many individuals. Religion is promoting social control through reinforcement of the social norms like appropriate dressing style, regulation on sexual behaviors, and following the laws.
Functionalist Perspective on the Education
According to Emile Durkheim, the founder of functionalism theory states that the fundamental role of education in society is the creation of social solidarity sense which eventually promotes value harmony. The communal solidarity is whereby the members of the organization are feeling like they are part of the community, therefore, working collectively for the unity of social goals. Social solidarity is gained as children learn English and history, which offers them a sense of national identity. The functionalism theory is arguing that education is the means for developing from simplistic, customary social edifices to very sophisticated contemporary techniques. Functionalism draws a biological perspective and asserts that society is similar to a living organism. That implies that though institutions within the standpoint of functionalist might serve the broad social function, the educational development is reflecting the particular needs of the industrial. Functionalists view education as a socialization process. Socialization is the term referring to the lifelong process for inheriting as well as disseminating the customs, norms, as well as ideologies, enabling an individual to have habits and skills vital for participation within the society. Socialization or education, according to the functionalist, is the process which results in desirable moral outcomes, which affect personal views concerning various issues like economics, and race within the society (Todd 182).
The functionalist paradigm is describing society as stable while other mechanisms seek to maintain the stability of society. Functionalists are arguing that social structures are responsible for the instability and security of the community. In contrast, social structures always attempt to maintain the social equilibrium in various social components. According to functionalists, the process of socialization is coercive and forces individuals to adopt social norms and values. The social norms, values are consented by every member of the community since there is a social contract that keeps society in balance and stable while protecting an individual from each other. Society follows and accepts the norms and values of the community to maintain their safety and in the maintenance of social order. School or education is an efficient technique for providing individuals with various skills that enhance co-operation in society. Hence, knowledge strengthens organic solidarity in society, which is the solidarity based on interdependency.
Conflict Perspective on Religion
Conflict theorist is viewing religion as the institutions which enable individuals to maintain social inequality patterns. For instance, the Vatican has an enormous amount of affluence, while regular Catholics have a minimum average income. Conflict theorist argues that religion has been used for justifying uneven social structures of the oppressive monarchs. For instance, the Caste system in India (Tiryakian 82). Conflict theorists criticize how most religions are promoting the ideology that believers are supposed to be satisfied with current circumstances since they divinely predestined. Such power dynamic has been used in the Christian liturgical cycle for decades in maintaining needy members confident with their poverty that their rewards are in heaven, and they will attain them after death. Conflict theorist is also arguing that individuals in spiritual power are dictating rituals, practices, and beliefs through their religious text interpretations by proclaiming that they have direct communication from a deity (Syaifullah 135).
Karl Marx asserts that religion is the sigh for people that are oppressed, sentiment for the heartless World, and is an opium of the poor. Conflict perspective argues that religion is similar to a drug that helps poor people to forget their miseries. People think that they will be rewarded in life after death if they obey the religious rituals despite their current conditions. Conflict theory asserts that religion reinforces as well as promote social inequalities as well as social conflict. Poor religious individuals usually view poverty in terms of religion. They think that it is the will of God for them to be poor, maybe because their faith in God is being tested or as punishment for violating the rules of God. Most people have a belief that by enduring current suffering, they are rewarded in the afterlife. Such religious views make the religious people not to pass the blame to others like the capitalist class for their conditions, and therefore they don’t revolt. Thus according to Marx, religion enables individuals to accept their terms or fate, and they maintain the existing status quo despite social inequality. Religion is also promoting gender inequality through negative stereotypes concerning women through reinforcement of the traditional perspective of women’s subordination to men. Since faith requires that wives submit to their husbands graciously, which is similar to the conventional view about women in society, religion is another avenue for promoting social conflicts since world history is showing that communities and individuals are ready to go to war, kill, and persecute due to religious differences.
Conflict Perspective on Education
Conflict theorists believe that state controls education, primarily through individuals that are powerful in the community, intending to reproduce the already existing inequality in the society together with acceptable ideologies which are working as the reinforcement of lucky positions for the leading group in the community (Fish 22). The conflict theorist doesn’t believe that education and public schools are reducing social inequality. Instead, they have a belief that education through formal schooling is perpetuating and reinforcing social imbalances arising from various gender, class, ethnicities, and races. The achievement of personal education is closely tied to social class. Whereby students from low economic status families are not provided with similar education opportunities as students with high status despite their desire to learn or academic prowess (Wright 23). Conflict theorist argues that schools are playing a vital role in training working-class students acknowledge and retain their positions as a low member of society. Conflict theorists are claiming that this role is fulfilled via disparity in the availability of resources to students in the poor and more affluent neighborhoods (Fish 15). Conflict theorists have attacked Intelligent Quotient testing (IQ); they assert that IQ is biased as it tests for cultural knowledge instead of actual intelligence. For instance, the test item might ask the student to name an instrument belonging to the Orchestra. Such information is asking for cultural experience instead of practical intelligence (Horii 170). Therefore the rich who are more exposed to various cultures are the only ones capable of answering correctly, but it does not mean they are intelligent. Conflict theorist argues that IQ test is another mechanism for lack of opportunities in education but as the maintenance of the power configurations (Todd 201).
Works Cited
Fish, Jonathan S. Defending the Durkheimian tradition: Religion, emotion and morality. Routledge, 2017:1-420.
Horii, Mitsutoshi. “Contextualizing “religion” of young Karl Marx: A preliminary analysis.” Critical Research on Religion 5.2 (2017): 170-187.
Syaifullah, Muhammad. “Education in Conflict Structural Perspective.” ICOLEESS: International Conference on Language, Education, Economic and Social Science. (Vol. 1. No. 1. 2019.pp. 135-148).
Tiryakian, Edward A. “Emile Durkheim and Social Change.” For Durkheim. Routledge, 2016. 81-86.
Todd, Nathan R. “A community psychology perspective on religion and religious settings.” (2017).
Wright, Ruth. “Sociology and music education.” Sociology and music education. Routledge, 2017. 23-42.