This semester I have the pleasure of taking a course in the sociology of religion and I am really getting into it and enjoying it, despite the challenges that the subject material presents, especially because in order to study sociology, one has to try to be "objective" and observe things from the outside in. Being the devout postmodern that I am, I would always argue that it is really impossible to look at anything completely objectively because we ourselves are directly involved in the things around us whether we like it or not, but am still enjoying being able to look at religion, its effects on society, as well as my own faith a little bit more critically.
This morning in my class we began to learn about and analyze the writings and theories of Emile Durkheim, a sociologist who did much of his work during the turn of the 20th century and had many thoughts on the sociological nature of religion. Many of his sociological thoughts on religion are very interesting and important to know, but one idea struck me very hard when I heard it. According to Durkheim, he states that society precedes religion. In other words, the practices and the rituals that are used and important to a particular religion are governed and dictated by the society of the worshipers.
At first glance, I was stunned by this seemingly blasphemous statement. Are you telling me that you consider religion to be merely a function of the society of sinful humans?! Once I got over the initial shock, however, I began to sit back and think and came to realize that this statement is really quite true and useful. This statement does not blatantly deny that God exists and that religion is unimportant and arbitrary, however it does state that certain societies will respond to the truth of God in different ways depending on the society that we live in. In the West, for example, many of us believe in the basic ideas and truths of Christianity, however we also tend to blend it with some of the other not so scriptural ideas of the ancient Greek philosophers or the easy and twisted tenants of capitalism. However there is hope. Religion is not the end all, but merely the window in which we try to relate to and connect with God. The truth is that we do not worship religion in and of itself, but worship a God that transcends society and culture and who reaches across all people groups.
Although this truth gives us hope and makes us warm and fuzzy, that statement also begs the question: If our version of Christianity is so governed by our society, then how do we reach out to others of other cultures and faiths and present to them the true gospel, and not just the Western gospel that we have been taught and socialized into? Different cultures have different and very healthy values and their religions have important points that Western Christianity often skims over or misses completely, and to completely obliterate their value systems and cultural heritages and plug in Western Christianity wholesale would be wrong. However, it is so hard to separate ourselves from our own culture (very close to impossible). So, what is a critical and sensitive Christian to do? I think that as we explore the many truths of religions and cultures, we must continually learn to listen to one another and look at the Bible both critically and obediently. Only then can we really begin to realize what it means to worship a God of all cultures.
Even though Durkheim was part of a discipline that is often overlooked by Christians, I believe that his ideas about society and religion are extremely valuable and believe that all Christians should be challenged to look at their beliefs critically and explore the nature of our God who is worshiped in more tongues than we can count. We may not be able to completely come out of our cultural bubbles, but we can still realize that God understands and watches over all the bubbles.
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