By: Liz

“The hypothesis we are considering is that the social function of a religion is independent of its truth or falsity, that religions which we think to be erroneous or even absurd and repulsive, such as those of some savage tribes, may be important and effective parts of the social machinery, and that without these “false” religions social revolution and the development of modern civilization would have been impossible.”
- Radcliffe-Brown, “Religion and Society”