جامعه شناسي دين

Sociology ofReligion

دين به عنوان سرچشمه رفتار نيك، كردار نيك، وجدان، خداپرستي، نظم، اخلاق فردي و اجتماعي ميان آدميان مطرح است. دين با نقش اجتماعي روشني كه دارد زندگي فردي و اجتماعي را سامان مي بخشد. بررسي هاي بسياري در زمينه نقش دين در دگرگوني فردي و اجتماعي انجام گرفته است و اين كه دين تا چه اندازه مي توانسته چارچوب ساخت نمادي و نظام هاي ارزشي را تغيير دهد بررسي هاي بسياري انجام گرفته است. دين الگوهاي ادراكي تازه اي از واقعيت ها را در فرهنگ و باورهاي سنتي پديد مي آورد. تعبيرها و تفسيرهاي ديني نقش بزرگي در تحولات اجتماعي بر عهده دارند و نيز دكترين ها و آموزه هاي سنتي دين در جامعه هاي مذهبي در فرايند زندگي اجتماعي، فرهنگي و سياسي تاثير گذارند. در باختر زمين روند آزاد انديشي بر ايجاد "دانش الهيات نوين" تاكيد كرده است و روش الهيات مسيحي جديد را پديد آورده و شعار "دين دنيوي" يا دين سكولار را نوسازي كرده است، اما خداشناسان بر اين باورند كه تنها يك دين وجود دارد و آن دين آخرت است.

The purpos,e of this article is to describe the role of religion from a sociological perspective. Sociologists are interested in the social impact of rel igion on ;ndividuals and institutions. In vi ewing religion as a social institution. sociologists evaluate its impact on human societies. The first two functions of religion that will be discussed in this article, are oriented toward the larger society. Emile durkheim viewed religion as an integrative power in human society, a perspective reflected in functionalist thought today. Following t he direction established by Durkheim almost a century ago, contemporary sociologists evaluate religions in two different ways. The norms and val ues of religions faiths can be studied through examination of their substantive religious beliefs. We will begin with a brief overview of tc approaches that Emile Durkheim first introduced and that lates sociologists have used in studing rei igion. Three impot1ant dimensions of religi ous behavior -bel ief, ritual. and experience- wiII be exam ined. We will explore the basic function of religion as a source of societal intecration and control and as a means of provid ing social support. Emile Durkheim was perhaps the first sociologist to recognize the critical importance of religion in human societies. In Durkheimʹs view, reli gion is a collective act and includes many forms of behavior in which people interact wit h others. Karl Marx concurred with Durkhemʹs emphasis on collective and socially shared nature of religious behavior. In contemporary industrial societies, scientific and technological advances have increasingl y affected all aspects of li fe, including the social institution of rel igion. Religion and morality wi ll vary betv/een societies, and the pattern of behaviour which results from these concepts is more different. The collective nature of religion has led to many forms of rel igious association. J n modern societies, religion has become increasi ngl y formal ized.