In the modern world, much is changing. Previously, the most important were the worldview, adaptive, protective and socially-critical functions of religion. But as the emergence of spiritual crises, secularization, syncretism, indifference, a different direction emerged into the foreground. And now the most significant is the illusory-compensatory function of religion.
general information
What is the compensatory function of religion? Usually it means that certain beliefs can give people comfort, help them find their peace of mind and reconcile themselves with inevitable incidents. In this case, religion has a stupefying effect, gives an illusory hope that in the future everything will be better. As an example, one can cite relief from suffering or eternal life. Because of such errors, this function is called illusory-compensatory. If we add to this also the adaptation with self-identification, then we get the whole set. From a scientific point of view, in this case, religion will have a significant psychological impact.
Change of outlook
Compensatory consolation function of religion is necessary in order to order, stabilize and harmonize the inner world of man. It should be noted subjectivist approach. The fact is that religion can give an illusory image of the world, but the ways it offers are ineffective or radically wrong. Many researchers express the idea that in this case the correct term will be "psychological defense". The most important is the aspect of overcoming the state of apathy, into which many people emerge. This condition is extremely dangerous, because a person ceases to be interested in what is happening around him. Life and its charms no longer attracted him, and at best he will simply move away from society. At worst, it can be decided that he has nothing to do here - and commit suicide.
Giving help
The task of religion in this case is to convince a person that when problems and grief arise, life does not stop, but continues. It is necessary to continue the struggle. However, as deceptive points, deceptive promises of subsequent rewards are given, which may not be. It should be noted that the principles of religion have found their use in practical psychology. As an example, Nossrat Pezeshkian can be cited. In 2007, during his speech in Lviv, he described the high efficiency of the use of religion. So, this psychologist asserted that it is necessary to correct the point of view, so that in the end result all human views on life were in harmony. Many problems arise because there is a conflict in consciousness because of a misunderstanding of a clear boundary between religion, church and faith. To such conclusions came Vladaet Erotich. He noted that a person may experience uncertainty due to some kind of conflict. And when parsing the causes of instability, conflicts and other things, priests often demonstrate performance no less than professional psychologists. Often the result is achieved through trusting relationships, because they still lack practical skills, and besides, they are limited by the existing doctrine of the world view.
Application in practice
It should be noted that the importance of such psychological stabilization of people is not given the necessary attention. Of course, the illusory-compensatory function of religion can not always be used, but only in individual cases, but it can help overcome the state of uncertainty. It is necessary to take care that a person does not fall into excessive fanaticism, and there is no situation "out of the fire and into the fire". If there is a religious person who is in apathy, an excessive inspiring impact can negatively affect his future. If you do not adhere to a certain framework, then an over-enthusiastic person can become a fanatic.
Study
Who is interested in the compensatory function of religion? Sociology of religion is engaged in a thorough study of this aspect of social life. It was noted that the optimal situation is when a person has reached such a level of intellectual development, when he himself can understand and perceive all events taking place in his life, and do not need such artificial mechanisms of maintaining psychological comfort. But a unanimous conclusion has not yet been reached. So, there is an opinion that the functions of religion: ideological, compensatory and others help preserve society in a state of relative stability. Others think that this only interferes with natural selection. Yes, their point of view is cruel - but we can not completely deny it justice.
Social support
Do not discount the various features. So, the researcher Klybanov noted that some communities (in his case, Baptist) are still serving as insurance for believers in case of negative events. Examples include loneliness, sickness, disability, and the like. In other words, a believer can count not only on spiritual consolation and moral support, but also on material assistance. Another researcher, Weber, echoed him and considers similar organizations to be something like a mutual assistance fund. In his opinion, the compensatory function of religion, the example of which was given, contributes to the fact that the religious views of the members of the community are supported more actively. After all, in this case, the level of their interaction significantly increases. The system itself functions. And in religious societies such support can be observed on a very different level - from words of consolation and free lunches and ending with medical care and pensions.
The use of the compensatory function of religion
Let's look at the process of consolation. As an example, let's take a person who has an event in his life that threatens to destroy his life. A person begins to fall into a state of apathy, he is no longer interested in what is happening around him, he is obsessed with one thing or nothing at all worries him. And now let's take a widespread religion, for example, Christianity. According to the dogmas of this world view, if you behave yourself, repent of your sins and so on, you can safely expect a happy life. That is, bliss is not given for nothing - it is necessary to deserve it. And to get a life full of happiness, you should work hard. To do this, it is necessary to move from a simple belief in dogma to adherence to the precepts set forth in the Bible.
Conclusion
It should be noted that religion is a very interesting social mechanism. Surely we can say that we still can not fully appreciate its significance for our past, present and future. But this does not mean that religion should not be studied. Moreover, it is necessary to take into account the mechanisms of its occurrence and influence on the psyche, in order to understand how it functions. For now, though it does not play the leading role, it still continues to influence us in one way or another.