ABSTRACT
Religions have served as both conservative forces and catalysts for change. To the extent that religions reflect core social values, such as reverence for social status and social hierarchies, they play important roles in maintaining the status quo of any society. New, different, or rapidly evolving religions frequently serve as sources of ideals and values to promote change, sometimes manifesting themselves as liberation theologies, radical religions, or social movements. When people come to believe, with passion and faith, that certain ideals are worth pursuing, their behavior changes, and they can have more impact on social structures. Where religions are used by the powerful few to control the masses, it is the vested interests of the power wielders that are sustained, rather than the more general interests of the members of the lower social classes. Religions are repositories of social mores as well as of spiritual values.
