Examine the theories of the origin of religion.

1. Sociologists and Anthropologists have propounded theories of the origin of religion. The theories are usually evolutionary in nature as they express successive stages in the development of the institutions of religion in society.

2. According to E.B. Tylor, religion emerged from the idea of soul. Dream is the manifestation of that interaction which is felt during sleep between the transmigrated soules with the body soul.

3. According to J.G. Frazer,“religion is the propitiation or conciliation of powers superior to man which are believed to direct and control the course of nature and of human life.

4. Max Mullar’s theory of the origin of religion is known as naturism. Like the views of E.B. Tylor, Max Muller’s theory is also based on the intellectual error of the primitive man. To the primitive man, at the first stage, the nature appeared to be most surprising, fearful, marvellous.

5. Emile Durkheim rejects all the existing theories of religion and instead puts forth a sociological theory of relgion. In every religion, Emile Durkheim says, a distinction is made between sacred and profane things. The sacred things are those which are treated as very special and superior and also which are protected and isolated. The profane things are interdicted and kept at distance from the sacred. The sacredness of a thing is not an inherent characteristic but something which it gets from another source and also from its opposition to the profane.

6. Totemism, according to Emile Durkheim, was the most primitive form of religion. The totem is treated sacred because it is a symbol of group life. People respect totem because they respect social values.