The Structure and Functions of Religion

The Sociology of Religion

According to sociologists, there is only one religion practiced by all of humanity. Now you will object to this interpretation, as we have Orthodox Judaism, Conservative and Reform Judaism, and several similar denominations. There are numerous Protestant denominations and of course a variety of Muslim and Hindu practices. Yet, there is only one religion.

Consider this. All religions separate the mundane, everyday life from the sacred. We have the sacred Shabbat, sacred builings we give the Greek name syn or together and agogue assembly.  Each religion uses symbols and languages to separate these sacred expressions from everyday talk. The Hebrew word hallelujah, meaning Let us  praise Hashem, is used by Christians as well as Jews, as is Amen, meaning “so be it.” Messiah means “smeared.” Translated into Greek it becomes Christ and in Latin it becomes “anointed,” derived from “annuere” or smeared.

All religions are totemistic. That South Pacific word means ancestors. We pray “Blessed are you, Lord. Our God, God of of our Fathers, Abraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov. Christians use the New Testament, which tells them that Jesus was descended from King David. Eskimos set up totem poles and Hindus pray to ancestors. Muslims view Mohammed as a sacred person, and Buddhists view the Buddah , Siddartha Gautama, as a sacred ancestor.

The word religion is derived from Latin. Res Legare means “the thing that binds,” as those who belong to the same religion feel bound together.

Religion can also be destructive. The Latin author Lucretius, 99 BCE -55 BCE,

“Tantum religio protuit  suadere mallorum”  or “To how much misery has religion persuaded us?” Muslims stand on the sidewalks of American cities and scream “Kill all Jews,” which is a central belief of  all Muslims. According to the Koran, the Muslim Bible, no one born of a Jewish mother or father has the right to live.

The word Bible is derived from the Lebanese city of Biblos. The ancient Greeks imported the wide leaves of palm trees from Biblos and wrote on them. They rolled the full leaves into scrolls and called them Biblos or books.

Over the centuries there have been numerous religious wars. Christians killed each other between 1618 and 1648 during the Thirty year War between Protestants and Catholics, and only one month ago, Muslims attacked Israel in an effort to kill all Jews.

Religions of all kinds teach their followers the dogmas that they hold sacred. We teach the Torah (the Way) and “The Talmud  or Scholarship . Muslims teach not only the Koran but also the Hadith or Muslim Law.  We view Hebrew as a sacred language, Catholics views Latin as sacred, and Muslims consider Arabic, in which the Koran is written, as sacred.

Every religion designates a few followers as a sacred clergy.  Jews call their clergy Rabbi, derived from the Hebrew word Rav, meaning more. The Rabbi knows more than we. Catholics call their clergy Father, Muslims call their clergy Imam.

All religions use a separate calendar. The Jewish calendar determines the Jewish Holy Days and Festivals, as does the widely accepted Christian calendar called The Gregorian calendar, named after Pope Gregory, who was instrumental in having the old Julian calendar revised to its present condition.

There are those who believe that Shem Yisborach views all men according to their adherence to His most important teaching. “…and you shall walk humbly with your God and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” We have Rabbis such as Rabbi Laizer Labkowski, who is a role model for all of us. The same was true of Rabbi Martin Goldberg, as well as a Christian man who risked his life to save me from murder by the Nazi killers.

I taught The Sociology of Religion at Buffalo State College for many years. There is of course much more to be learned about this. Why not go to a library and read a book about this.

Be well, my friends, and love your neighbor.

Shalom u'vracha.

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