ABSTRACT

Religion can serve quite specific and distinctive purposes in different societies at different times. Professor Elizabeth Nottingham has written, 'Religion is associated with man's attempts to plumb the depths of meaning in both himself and the universe. At a more 'practical' level, religion provides a means of adjustment to certain situations. At a Christian funeral service, for instance, the 'manifest function' is to honour the dead person and provide a communal occasion whereby relatives and friends can pay him their last respects. The most conventional form of compensatory belief may be held by those who make special claims to religious experience. Religious beliefs can be socially disruptive and lead to radical and even revolutionary movements. The Anabaptist movement in Germany, also in the sixteenth century gave rise to uncompromising and extravagant religious and social practices. The main difference concerns the areas of activity within which religion is operative, and this varies from society to society.