All of us reading this chapter have had very different experiences when we consider religion. For some of us, our religious tradition forms a core part of who we are. We learned our religious practices from our families and communities, often from birth. For some of us, those religious practices we learned from birth no longer serve us, and we’ve left the faith traditions of our families.

For others, religion is a thing we’ve never considered. Perhaps the closest we get to a synagogue, mosque, church or temple is knowing that Christmas celebrates Jesus’s birth and that Hindus celebrate Holi, a festival that involves flinging colored powders on others and great joy. For still others of us, religion is yet another way that the world divides into us versus them. When you consider religion, or its sister word, spirituality, what comes up for you?

As is usual with sociology, sociologists look at wider patterns of belief and behavior to make sense of the social world. The patterns surrounding religion are commonly studied among sociologists, as religion can be both a force that creates social change, and a force for resisting social change. Let’s look at a current example to make sense of this.

In the 4:06-minute video, “The Novel Legal Concept to Protect Sacred Rivers” (figure 8.1) we see how religion, activism and law intersect. Activists, grounded in their spirituality, assert that the rivers are living entities with their own unique personhood. Rivers have the right to flow freely, to be protected from harm, including the harm of pollution, and to maintain their unique biodiversity. They engage with the legal system to make this possible.

As you watch the video, please consider how this way of seeing rivers may be different than your own. Which religious or spiritual traditions do you see represented in this conversation about the rights of rivers? Also, please pay attention to the ways in which religious beliefs inform or support the debate about river rights. Are these viewpoints new to you?

Figure 8.1 The Novel Legal Concept to Protect Sacred Rivers [YouTube Video]

8.1.1 The Power of Religion for Social Stability and Change

When we look more deeply at the stories told in this video, we begin to see the power of religion for both social stability and social change. The Ganges River in India supports the lives of 400 million people who use the river and her tributaries for water, transportation, fishing and removal of sewage and waste. Beyond the physical presence of the river, the waterway is sacred to Hindus.

They revere the river as Mother Ganga. They bathe in the river to remove spiritual impurities. They make pilgrimages to the river, because even one bath in the river can remove a lifetime of sin. During the festival of Kumbh Mela, the Festival of the Sacred Pitcher, millions of pilgrims travel to the river every 12 years, so they can bathe in the waters of the Ganges and be purified. At the end of life, people come to the river to die in a sacred place. Their bodies are cremated, and the ashes are returned to the river. Physical and spiritual life are nourished by this mighty river, an unchanging social reality for centuries.

As the video highlights, the Ganges is also extraordinarily polluted by human waste, by the remains of the dead, by the chemical wastes from factories, and by pressures of the millions of people who live in her watershed. This interactive infographic “The Race to Save the River Ganges” tracks the inputs of water and wastewater in the Ganges and tells how members of India’s government are committing to clean up the river. But science is only part of the answer. Religion is another part.

Social change in support of the Ganges is occurring through religious leadership, support of religious ideas, and changes in religious practices. The river herself is considered sacred. Caring for her is a sacred obligation. For example, the Dalai Lama, the leader of Tibetan Buddhism and His holiness Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati, leader of an international interfaith ashram, along with other religious and political leaders began theGanga Action Parivar (GAP) foundation to interconnect people and organizations focused on river clean up.

We can also look to Professor Veer Bhadra Mishra. He created a foundation to focus on cleaning up the Ganges, working tirelessly to make it happen. He worked as a hydraulic engineer, designing ways to remove pollution from the river. He was also the mahant, or head, of the Sankat Mochan Temple, a Hindu temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. His religious practice informed his activism. Amberly Polidor, an activist filmmaker, writes:

Just as important as V. B. Mishra and the foundation’s work to develop a practical scientific solution to cleaning the Ganges was their work to incorporate Hindu culture and tradition in the clean-up. They found new ways to talk about the river that respect the Hindu worldview and veneration of the Ganges. According to Mishra’s view, to tell a Hindu that Ganga, goddess and mother, is “polluted” or “dirty” is an insult; it suggests that she is no longer sacred. Rather, the approach must acknowledge that human action, not the holy river herself, is responsible: “We are allowing our mother to be defiled.” This approach has stimulated grassroots involvement in the clean-up effort, and is transforming the work for environmental preservation into a model for cultural and religious preservation as well. (Polidor 2014: n.p.)

Understanding and adapting religious beliefs and practices can be a source of power for environmental change.

Figure 8.2 The Yurok Tribe recognizes the Klamath River as a person. What rights does the person of a river have?

In the beautiful U.S. Pacific Northwest, we see Indigenous peoples using similar approaches to protect rivers. This effort includes both the Klamath River in Southern Oregon and Northern California, and the Snake River, at the border of Oregon and Idaho. The Klamath River Basin is home to the Yurok tribe. In May 2019 the Yurok people granted the rights of personhood to the Klamath River, upholding the idea that the river is an entity worthy of respect, care and protection. This belief is deeply rooted in the worldview and the spiritual practices of the Yurok people. In the words of one tribal member:

I was born and raised on the River. My life is woven with the river and its fish and people. If the River is sick, so am I. So are we all, because it is our spirit and strength. It is not the simple fact of eating healthy food from the River that is important… It is the knowing in my mind, heart and spirit that the River itself is whole and healthy. We are merely a reflection of the River, and will never be healthy again until it is (Yurok Tribal Member Survey Respondent 2006 in Sloan 2011: 91).

Figure 8.3 The Snake River and the Grand Teton Mountains by Ansel Adams. Public Domain. The Nez Perce Tribe recognizes the Snake River as a person. How might this change how we see or protect the river?

Similarly as the Snake River, which sets the border between Oregon and Idaho, the Nimiipuu or Nez Perce Tribe has granted the rights of personhood to the Snake River, June 2020. Watch the 2:50-minute video, “Covenant of the Salmon People”, which tells the story of what the tribe is doing to protect the river, what some of their next steps might be, and how these actions support their traditional tribal lifeways. As you watch, please consider how the spiritual beliefs of the tribe support their activism.

COVENANT OF THE SALMON PEOPLE – PREVIEW from Swiftwater Films on Vimeo.

Figure 8.4 Covenant of the Salmon People – Preview [Vimeo Video]

The tribal resolution states, “the Nez Perce tribe recognizes that the Snake River is a living entity that possesses fundamental rights, in accordance with longstanding Nez Perce tribal beliefs and practices.” (Nez Perce Tribe General Council Meeting 2020:2). The physical and spiritual health of the people and the river are intertwined.

These stories and others from around the globe demonstrate the power of religion to create positive change. At the same time, we know that religion can be a force for harm. Religion can be used to justify slavery, colonization, and gender based violence. How do we make sense of this contradiction? In this chapter, we’ll learn more about how sociologists define religion and spirituality, and explore who believes what. We’ll look at how religion and spirituality can support social stability and contribute to conflict. We’ll explore how religion has supported the inequalities of slavery, colonialism, and gender based violence. And we’ll look at how religion and spirituality can contribute to social transformation in these same areas. Finally, we’ll look at how religion and spirituality can play a role in addressing the climate crisis.

The following questions guide our learning about social change and religion:

• How do sociologists define religion as a social institution?
• How do world beliefs and rituals contribute to the role of religion and spirituality in society?
• How do sociologists explain religion and spirituality according to five sociological perspectives?
• How do emerging changes in religion demonstrate resistance to social change and support for social change?
• How is religion and spirituality playing a role in addressing our climate crisis?

Welcome to an exploration of the sacred world.