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Theories and approaches to the study of religion

Substantive definitions (belief in spiritual beings – Tylor), functional definitions (what religion does – Durkheim) and family-resemblance approaches.

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Defining religion

Substantive definitions (belief in spiritual beings – Tylor), functional definitions (what religion does – Durkheim) and family-resemblance approaches.

Theories of the origin and function of religion

  • Durkheim: religion is the worship of society itself; the sacred and the profane; collective effervescence; social solidarity.
  • Marx: religion as ideology – "the opium of the people" – legitimating inequality.
  • Freud: religion as wish-fulfilment and illusion arising from psychological needs.
  • Weber: religion can drive social change (the Protestant ethic).
  • Evolutionary theories (animism to monotheism) – criticised for portraying African religions as "primitive".

Approaches to studying religion

Phenomenological approach (bracketing personal beliefs, describing religion from the believer's viewpoint), historical, sociological, psychological, theological and comparative approaches.

African religion in scholarship

Early missionary and colonial writers misrepresented African religion as "fetishism" or "ancestor worship"; African scholars (John Mbiti, Bolaji Idowu, Gordon Chavunduka, Michael Gelfand on the Shona) offered fuller accounts, though some were criticised for interpreting African religion through Christian categories.

Exam tip: Evaluate each theory by asking whether it explains religion as believers themselves understand it.

Check yourself

  1. What is the phenomenological approach to religion?
  2. According to Durkheim, what is the main function of religion?
  3. Why have early colonial accounts of African religion been criticised?
Show answers
  1. Studying religion by describing it from the believer's perspective, suspending one's own judgements.
  2. To create social solidarity and reinforce shared values.
  3. They used derogatory labels, misunderstood beliefs, and judged African religion by Western/Christian standards.
Next topicAfrican Traditional Religion: beliefs and practices

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