The Sociological Study of Religion

     Religion has been part and parcel of almost all the cultures. This hold of religion in almost all aspects of an individual and a social life has stuck sociologists. As usual there have been many different approaches towards the study of religion. One of the first studies of religion in sociology was by Emile Durkheim. He studied the aborigines of Australia who practised totemism. He believed that totemism was the most primitive form of all religions. He made this assumption viewing that totemism is purely independent of any other form of belief. He said that by studying the primitive religion we will be able to find the reason for the existence of religion (in sociological sense). In his work “The Elementary Forms of Religious Life” he does not study much about the present day religions. This is just one way in which religions were studied by sociologists.

     I, in this article would just highlight the important conditions in my view to be followed by a sociologist in his or her study of religion. A sociologist’s work is not to argue the presence or absence of god (the so called unseen supernatural power).It would be more appropriate if sociologists stop to study religion based on their beliefs or preconceived notion so that their work would not become futile. Religion had turned into something that is an integral part of all societies and in recent past has started to lose its earlier sort of dominance over all aspects of society (secularisation). A sociologist should remember that he or she is not a theologian but a sociologist. “Has religion been the binding force of the people” was the question that drove throughout Durkheim in his study. Such has to be the goal of a sociologist while trying to learn sociology of religion. He or she must try to study the reasons, effects and consequences of religious beliefs, practices and rituals. To be more precise a sociologist should alienate himself from his belief. As in any research work, he got to make sure that all his claims are supported by evidence. Durkheim once said “religion is thee projection of the society”. Such are the statements that are supposed to come from a sociological study.  I write this article as a tribute to those who think sociology of religion is equivalent to study of religion itself. This article is not intended at anyone.

RELIGION – A BLACK MARK IN THE HANDS OF VOTERS

     














               The world is full of diversity and it makes the world beautiful. The problem starts when one starts stratifying the diversity, rather than enjoying and accommodating it. When I was assigned to enumerate the disadvantages of a Republican nation, the first issue that came into my mind was caste. Castes outnumber districts in India and each district has many castes within it. So, when a representative has to be elected from a district, politicians start playing the caste game to infatuate the voters by instigating their herd instincts.

               Politicians, like the British, follow the “Divide and Rule” policy in this multi-cultural nation, for their gain. The people, while electing their representative, should bear broader perspectives and long term benefits in their mind rather being subjective to their caste and religion.  The matter discussed here is the influence of religion, caste and cash on Indian Election and ultimately on Indian Politics.

                To start with, I present you the inference of a survey that was conducted in Uttar Pradesh (UP) - the hotbed for caste gambling - about the ongoing Assembly Election there (written on the Op-Ed page of The Hindu dated 28/11/2011 URL : http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article2665895.ece).

                There, the Jatav community people are supporting Mayawati’s Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) as she hails from that community and raised the social position of the community in the state. Mulayam Singh ‘Yadav’ is supported by Yadav community.  Though Rashtriya Lok Dal’s (RLD) Ajit singh is a Jat Community leader, he and his ally Congress depends on the support of Muslims. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as anticipated, takes the issue of Ayodhya and is backed by some Hindus.

              After reading this, I wonder what for the election in India is meant for. Is that used for electing a political leader or a religious (or) community leader? We want to keep in mind that election is the main institution in India to implement democracy and vote is the main power vested with the people to decide the fate of the country. If we misuse this power the whole national integrity of the country gets pulverized.

            In an article written to The Hindu titled “Umpiring a Gigantic exercise” dated 4/1/2012 ( URL : http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article2772437.ece), former Chief Election Commissioner of India, Navin Chawla mentioned that during the May 2009 General Elections, a polling station was set up deep inside the Gir Forest for a single person to cast his single vote. This is the value given to the vote by the Constitution of India. If we adulterate this value, it would be the pinnacle of disrespect given to the Constitution and to our freedom fighters.

           Moreover, when people look for a person’s religion or caste, they will sure forget his/her intellect, social responsibility and caliber. People believe that when a person of our religion or caste gets elected, he/she will do beneficiaries in favour of them. Automatically when got elected, they will give incentives and frame policies in a manner that the people of majority community is benefited, leaving behind the minority community in despair. In this way, religion has become a tool in the hands of politicians to deceive the people and to reduce the value of the vote.

          At last, the influence of money on Indian elections. These are regular features of elections held in South India. Thanks to the meticulous work done by the Election Commission, crores of rupees were seized in 2011 Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections that were to be distributed to the people to buy their vote. People want to realize that if a person is ready to give money or anything else to woo their votes before the election, he/she will never turn to them after they got elected. Because, their aim is to go to the House and to accumulate wealth. Not even a single percent to serve the people.

         So, do take the election process serious and do not ever underestimate the value given to your vote. Do some analysis before electing your representative.

                           "Cast your Vote……Don’t Vote your Caste”