The Social Function of Religion Religion is assuredly one of the more tangible markers of both culture and civilization. This fact is particularly true when one considers the role of religion in contemporary American life. Anyone doing so would find it difficult to divest the notion of religion from its sociological functions, especially if they were familiar with Durkheim’s theory of religion and the emphasis the author places on its social origins. Albeit from a slightly less specific viewpoint, Marx’s conception of ideology is also applicable to the role of religion in 21st century American society. A comparison of the points of similarity and differences between each of these tenets advanced by these renowned Occidental thinkers reveals that Durkheim’s theory is more revealing of how religion functions in America today—although Marx’s views are surely manifest in a number of different conceptions of religion here as well.

The most paramount similitude between Durkheim’s theory of religion and Marx’s notion of ideology is the fact that the power of belief that underpins both religion and ideology is not inherently rooted in divinity or a higher power. This point is pivotal to understanding some of the later social repercussions each author imputes to his respective tenet, as well as to understanding the role religion plays in American society today. For his part, Durkheim unequivocally asserts that religion was devised as a means of educating people about, and actually getting them to act in accordance with, normative social values. He buttresses this stance by noting “there are great religions from which the idea of gods and spirits is absent, or… plays only a secondary and minor role” (Durkheim, 1915).

There is nothing Marx wrote about ideology which suggests that it is something engendered by a divinity. In fact, the notion that some believe ideology stemmed from a divine power is solidly refuted by the assertion that, in such an instance, “the creators, have bowed down before their creations” (Marx, 2000). This quotation adequately sums up the view of both Marx and Durkheim regarding divinity in relation to the organized social principles implicit to religion and ideology. Both writers believe that man is the author of religion and ideology, and that no power spawned from these two concepts...

Durkheim, however, is only preoccupied with religion (which, of course, is an ideology). Thus, when determining which of these two ideas is more illuminating when evaluating the role of religion in modern America, Durkheim’s is more trenchant simply because it pertains to religion only. It is readily apparent that Marx addresses the notion of ideology in general—not as something necessarily denoting religion—in his seminal work The German Ideology. Marx is analyzing the very tenet of ideology, which includes aspects of religion but which is actually “the rule of thoughts” (Marx). Again, some of these thoughts involve religion, yet others decidedly do not.
Since Durkheim only writes about the effects of religion, its origin, and how its pretexts actually affect society, there is more insight in his works about religion’s place in the U.S. today. Specifically, Durkheim seeks to detail how religion “has as its object the explanation of some actual reality which is near to us, and which consequently is capable of affecting our ideas and our acts” (Durkheim, 1915). This quotation offers a synopsis of the role religion has in American society today. It impacts actions and ideas in a way that supersedes that of other ideologies. Religion is largely used as a means of providing demonstrations for expected social behavior in the U.S. today, which certainly affects people’s actions according to Durkheim’s description of religion in the preceding quotation.

Another key differentiator between Durkheim’s theory of religion and Marx’s conception of ideology as they relate to religion’s role in modern day America is each other’s treatment of the various forms of behavior involved. As previously indicated, in contemporary America religion is a means of disseminating socially accepted modes of behavior to people. Specifically, these modes of behavior are referred to by Durkheim as “rites” (Durkheim, 2000)—meaning specific stages or even rituals which people engage in for certain occasions.…