ANTHANTH. Long Essay Questions. Religion & Theology Essay

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Question One
Marx/Engel and Emile Durkheim had theories that were interesting concerning societies. Marx/Engel and Durkheim understood the importance of having an integrated society. Marx/Engel and Emile Durkheim have had a significant role in the understanding of theories relating to sociology. Sociological theory is essential as it is used to explain several things on how society is bound together. Marx/Engel and Emile Durkheim had varied ideas on what brought society together, but to some extent, their thoughts were the same. Mile Durkheim was of the idea that society had a multifaceted kind of system of co-dependent parts and consistent parts that work hand in hand to bring stability (Mestrovic, 2017). Durkheim believed that social facts held society in oneness. Durkheim was of the idea that social facts comprised of acting, feeling, and having thoughts outside from one individual and exhibiting coercive power from that individual. The things could be made up of norms, values, rules, and social institutions. Such things control the life of a person.
On the other hand, Marx/Engel believed that the separation of class and labor was enough to bring social stratification that led to alienation. According to Marx/Engel, the above were important when it came to essential elements within society. Marx stood with the idea that class conflict is active and can be found in every society since time immemorial. On society and matters of alienation, Marx was aware that competition witnessed in workers made them different from the other (Mestrovic, 2017). Moreover, the workers were alienated from the ways of production because they did not have a say in the way production was undertaken. As for Marx/Engel, the point was that the division of conflict and labor between workers and capitalists were significant problems in society.
Freud's perspective in the line of psychoanalysis regarding religion was that it was of the unconscious need of the mind for fulfilment. Freud believed that people had a lot of guilt in themselves and for them to be secure and absolve themselves from such tendencies; they had to believe in God. Believing in God was because the latter was a father-figure who yields immense power. On the other hand, Freud also critiques religion to certain extents (Talvitie, 2018). Freud believed that religion was unwelcoming unloving and harsh to those that did not subscribe to any specific group of religion. Freud considered religion as an illusion. To be precise, Freud was of the view that religion was meant to have power in the external world. Furthermore, Freud believed that religion as not being a permanent acquisition but rather a counterpart to neurosis that civilized men had to go through.
On his part, Tylor viewed religion as a belief in the world of 'spiritual beings'. In this case, Tylor was of the view that humans beings believed in a soul that gave them life and that the death of the body would be survived. This belief is likened to that of Freud, who seems not to believe in religion, but instead believed in other powers. To Tylor, religion was hinged on the understanding of fellow humans that were thought to have enough capabilities instead of believing in God. Tylon believed that there was nothing like God. Moreover, the intellectual questioned so much about the existence of 'gods'. Just like Freud, the two seem to question on supernatural powers. They critique the presence of such forces and to a more significant extent; they believe that there is nothing like God but just some powers to be believed.
Question 2
Turner and Geertz hold important notes when it comes to religion and its symbolism. Both intellectuals are of the view that there is a liminal period when it comes to rituals. Such a period is termed as rites of passage where certain things have to be accomplished on an individual. Rites of passage hold an important aspect to a religious perception of an individual as someone has always to be there to accomplish certain acts. According to Turner and Geertz, there is also a belief that there is structural 'invisibility' when it comes to liminal persona; it implies that there are certain things that are classified in religion and viewed as more important than others. A good case is given of every 'river' that has a multivocal symbol that represents a given degree of importance on an individual. Moreover, Turner and Geertz view religious symbols as containing levels. One level of meaning is operational meaning, positional meaning and interpretive meaning.
According to Boyer and Keller, religious symbolism is represented in several ways. Some symbols represent religion through semantic features and which have a concept. Secondly, some concepts are put in formal theories that help br...