Social Function Of Religion

This dissertation takes several Huizu Muslim community as study object, selects Lanzhou, Shadian district in Yunnan province and Xidaotang in Gansu province as fieldwork points, including three different level of city, town and village. The author expounds and proves social function of religion with the data gathered by questionnaire, interview and participant-observation. The author thinks that the definition of religion is composed of three parts, namely belief, ritual and religious organization, then social function of religion is reflected correspondingly by this three aspects, therefore this dissertation discusses its function around this three aspects. The author holds that social function of religion rests with it applies a kind of regulation and system to integrate the understanding and conduct of society, thereby establish social order. The author calls this process as social institutionalization.Firstly, belief is the core of religion, religious belief has important influence on individual conception and conduct. The reason of individual professing Islam is mainly influenced by one's family and environment. Those who don't profess Islam most come from living scattered region, because they have few chance to contact Islam and less restrained by religion. Religion make a series of norm about disciple's words and deeds through its creed, use these system and regulation to restrain disciple,enable their conduct and conception conforming to their social status, thereby present a kind of order, and then bring about social institutionalization. Order can bring stabilization and sense of security, and yet meaning bring spiritual distillation and aesthetic interest. A society which lack order and meaning is bound to confusion and difficult to bear. Religion offer social order pattern, social sense of value which formed from religion belief is helpful to uphold social order. Religion belief is profitable to society or group controlling its member, expound rationally ail reasons such as causing the society chaos, destroying social stabilization, even leading to the society collapse, thus attain to eliminate these anti soeiety power and maintain social stabilization. Religion belief makevpsychology-adjusting for those who being the state of mental crisis in modern society, and balance people's psychology, thus eliminate psychology hidden danger. Psychology helping somebody to change by religion belief is imperceptibly influence and other methods can't achieve and replace. Religion belief establish the value system of what's true, what's kind for disciple, as a result it can communicate the common value of a group, lessen dispute, and in a certain sense achieve social institutionalization.Secondly, religion is expressed within ritual. The dissertation takessome typical ritual of Islam-religious service, go on a pilgrimage,Ermaili-as analysis text, expounds and proves the function of ritual todifferent participant. The author points out that these ritual's holding have important function: firstly, it is an effective method to enhance ethnic group's cohesion and intensify identity among disciples. Secondly, religious ritual has the function of culture infiltration. Common social tradition re-plant in the heart and transfer through participating ritual, consequently can keep a relative stable social order. Thirdly, participating ritual can adjust psychology. In the course of ritual, one can wash his heart, cleanse his thought and purify his soul, make one person quiet in mind, lessen selfish desire and the mind of fight with others. Religion has solidified common emotion and faith by ritual's holding repeatedly, so as not to consume completely in everyday work. In a word, ritual enhance ethnic group's cohesion, intensify identity and transfer of tradition, moreover, it adjusts disciple's psychology.Finally, the most important symbol of Islam organization is mosque. Nowadays, mosque adapts the development of the times and still has important function. Firstly, in the questionnaire, 80% Muslim have selected that mosque...