It should be borne in mind, however, that the dysfunctional aspects of religion relate to institutionalised religion. Instead of strengthening social solidarity, organised religions have served throughout history as divisive forces, encouraging directly and indirectly religious feuds of varying dimensions.
In primitive and traditional societies, religion was all pervasive in the sense that religion ordained everything from birth to cremation or burial. Religion determined the world view of the believers in primitive societies. These characteristics are applicable to religious people in modern societies also, but a subtle difference has crept in: With regard to theology, people are gradually moving away from a mythical interpretation to a more rational one. The “rationalisation of religious, thought is part of a general process of rationalisation of thinking in general.”
Secularisation of culture involved not simply an increase in rationality in the thinking of man but also “a diminution of the sacred” which is often characterised as ‘desacralisation’ of the attitudes towards persons and things. Desacralisation actually means “the withdrawal of the kind of emotional involvement which is to be found in the religious response, in the response to the sacred.” Thus the secularisation of religion means both desacralisation and rationalisation, i.e. religious world-view is no longer the basic frame of reference for thought.
Max Weber’s interpretation of .industrial society provides one of the earliest statements on the disacralisation theme. According to him, the industrial society is characterised by rationalisation and intellectualisation and above all, by the ‘disenchantment of the world’.
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But the modern idea of secularisation is attributed to Bryan Wilson. In his book Religion in a Secular Society he observes, “Religious thinking is perhaps the area which evidences most conspicuous change. Men act less and less in response to religious motivation, they assess the world in empirical and rational terms.” Wilson identifies four factors which are mainly responsible for the rational thinking and rational world view.
(i) Worldly asceticism:
Protestantism created an ethic which was pragmatic, rational, controlled and anti-emotional, in other words, a worldly asceticism.
(ii) Rational principles:
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In an industrial society, men are involved in organisations which are based on rational principles. Firms, public service and educational institutions, for example, impose rational behaviour.
(iii) Reason rather than faith:
Modern knowledge is based on reason rather than faith. Science, says Wilson, not only explains many facets of life and the material environment in a way more satisfactorily than religion, but it also provides confirmation of its explanation in practical results.
(iv) Ideologies:
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Ideologies such as Communism developed which offer practical solution to the problems. By comparison, religious solution such as promises of justice and reward in the afterlife do not produce practical and observable results.
A rationalist perspective has conquered many aspects of our existence, and its hold seems unlikely to be weakened in the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, there are bound to be reactions
against rationalism, leading to periods of religious revival. There are probably few people who have never been touched by religious sentiments, and science and rationalist thought remain silent on such fundamental questions as the meaning and purpose of life-matters which have always been at the core of religion.