Sociological Perspectives Of Structural Functionalism

Structural Functionalism aims to understand society in an objective way. It views society as an entity that is “objectively real”. It emphasizes the unity of society, and how individuals perform roles and how these roles are vital in meeting the needs of the collective whole. For instance, because every society has stratification, stratification must have certain functions and these functions can contribute to the survival of the social system as a whole. Furthermore, structural

Sociology is the “systematic or scientific study of human society and social behavior” (Ferris and Stein, 2016, p. 9). The study of an individual society and its behaviors can have contrast due to a 20th century event. In the essay Racism and Research: The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, the unethical experiment took place in the year 1932 in Macon County, Alabama. This case can discuss the topics of culture, socialization, deviance, and race. All of which can become visible in a society through the structural functionalism lens. This sociological perspective theory is “a way of looking at the world” through a specific lens (Ferris and Stein, 2016, p. 10).

Major religions dating back 4,000 years have served as institutions that bring individuals together in the form of communities that share similar morals, ideals, and customs. Religion greatly affects individual behavior both positively and negatively because of how important of a role it plays in many lives. Smidt (1999) notes that religious institutions act as a societal framework that provides a variety of services such as guidance, physical care, and social networks. It is at these institutions where individuals are first introduced to ideas about ethics, values, and customs. Thus, officials within each religion have an important role in shaping how their congregates view the world. Many religious institutions serve as the center of a particular

Bias, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is an inclination of temperament or outlook, or a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgement. We face bias in our everyday lives when dealing with all aspects of life and not necessarily the criminal justice system. As a part of society, like conflict, bias helps our society function. While not always in a positive sense, bias does have a place in society that helps it function the way we know it today. Bias in society can be compared or categorized under the sociological perspective of Functionalism. The sociological theory of Functionalism is essentially when all aspects of society that are interdependent contribute to the functioning existence of society as a whole. If there was no bias in society,

Barkan, S. E. (2011). Religion as a Social Institution. Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World, Comprehensive Edition (V.1.0).

“Religion is a ritualized system of beliefs and practices related to things defined as sacred by an organized community of believers.” (Basirico et.al. 379). Religion is an important element in the society because it influences the way individuals act and think. It has shaped the relationship and bonding among families as well as influenced the decision made in economics and politics. Religion in general has contributed to shape a society and a government structure which will influence the way the individuals under certain governmental structure behave. Sociologists are interested in religion mainly because religious belief is heavily rooted in individuals’ lives and it helps sociologists to interpret human’s actions, expression, and

There is three major sociological perspectives Symbolic interactionism, Structural Functionalism, and Conflict theory. These three sociological perspectives are used in different ways to study, and describe the way we interact with the world around us. Symbolic interactionism looks at the deeper meaning we place in objects, events, and behaviors to interpret our bond with the world around us. Structural Functionalism focus on individuals make up the society around us. Functionalism view society without any social facts like laws, custom, and religious beliefs.

Functionalism sees society as a framework and a system that needs to work together , sociologists believe that we need social structures that give us shape to our lives and that each social structure has a social function , failure to follow the social structure will result in a social consequence two early contributors to this theory

Structural functionalism is a macro level approach to study sociology (Browning, 2015). Structural functionalists believe social consensus is what holds society together; social consensus being a condition in which most members of the society agree on what would be good for everyone. Structural functionalists view society as a web of social structures, each structure being functional to fulfill it’s own needs, but dependent on all other structures for survival (Vago, 2012).

Functionalism is seen as a macro-scale approach to society; it sees society as a whole rather than looking at parts of it. Due to this, functionalism sees society as a body (organic analogy), all the institutions work together to make society. This is particularly useful when observing society in order to understand the way in which it functions and the way in which all the institutions (organic analogy: organs within the body) work together to sustain society as a whole. Functionalism being a macro-scale approach is therefore seen as a strength as it allows functionalist sociologists to observe society, and its institutions, as a whole.

This theory stats that society is structured in a way that maintains its stability (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009, pg 14) How can one use this theory to look at religion? A famous functionalist Emile Durkheim divided the world in to the sacred which holds important significance such as a cross, and the profane which is just an ordinary object that holds no significance (Stevens, William J, 2008). According to William J Stevens, while Durkheim had removed God from religion, he still felt it was a positive force that could unite a society under similar beliefs and values (Stevens, William J, 2008). Bronislaw Malinowski found that religion can perform a function of creating societal solidarity due to religion being a psychological response to the needs of society during times of anxiety (Stevens, William J, 2008). Malinowski also stated that religion can provide security when one is faced with situations that may be out of their control (Stevens, William J, 2008). Talcott Parsons added to this by stating that religion makes the values of a society legitimate (Stevens, William J, 2008). This could in turn also cause conflict amongst society which would serve as a dysfunction such as the religions in the United States creating a battle against the liberal secular movement (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009, pg 337).

Structural functionalism developed from the initial foundation of Emile Durkheim in the late 19th century and expanded upon fully by A.R. Radcliffe-Brown. In looking for the reason a society is held together, Durkheim focused on social ‘facts’ – the facets of society such as customs and values that dictated the operation of the overall system in meeting individual’s social needs. These facts are not derived from

Structural Functionalism is “A major sociological perspective that views society as an interdependent system of parts (structures) and purposes (functions) that work together to make a society operate (Larkin, 2015)”. In order for a society to work all parts of the same society must work together. In structural functionalism society nearly depends on one another to stay afloat. If Something changes it can causes a disruption in society and begins to make things become unbalanced. Functionalism focuses on many groups that make up society, for example Government, Judiciary, and religion are some of the key groups that benefits in society strengthening their social relationships and the very world humans live in.

The functionalist analysis of religion is concerned with the contribution religion makes to meeting society's needs such as social solidarity, value consensus and harmony and integration between its parts. Durkheim = == ==

To understand the extent of social impact and religion, researchers by the name of Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber decided to find a correlation between religion and society. These individuals not only found a correlation between religion and society, but they also realized it had a functioning role with the individuals who practice that respective religion. For instance, Emile Durkheim 's work was based on the functionalist perspective which indicated, “religion provides social cohesion and social control to maintain society in social solidarity.” (Boundless, 2015). Social cohesion is very important within society because it allows people with cultural diversity to be able to bond together with similar beliefs in order to