... in America. He also agreed with Malinowski saying religion alleviates tension and frustration. Berger, who looked at the idea of phenomenology, claimed that religion works as a sacred canopy, and concentrates on the individual. In relation to the development of religion in modern society, Functionalism suggests that the division of labour will turn out to be more complicated and this in turn will cause the collective consciousness to fade and less able to direct peoples behaviour. They say that society will no longer be sacred, but instead the individual and peoples attitude towards society will no longer be religious. A main sociological argument which can be compared to Functionalism is Marxism. Marxism agrees that religion is a conservative force, although it is not a positive force or valuable to society. Marxism says that religion is used to reproduce, preserve and legitimise class inequality; it is seen as an 'opiate of ...

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