Structural Functionalism and Scripture

A paragraph from Sociology Through the Eyes of Faith by David A. Fraser and Tony Campolo:

In this tradition [structural functionalism], inequality is natural. People are born with innate differences in gifts, motivation, and capabilities. This shows up in variations in social worth. Because humans are by nature inclined to disorder, strong social bonds are essential. The nature of society is that of interdependent institutions with a supportive set of norms and values that bind people together into a cohesive whole. The most common metaphors for this vision of society are those of the living organism and the system. In either case, the images stress the unity of the social whole and the self-correcting functioning of the social organism when its parts properly interrelate. A stable but dynamic equilibrium is created when every part or element contributes to the survival and health on the whole.¹

George Ritzer associates structural functionalism with consensus theories, which "see shared norms and values as fundamental to society, focus on social order based on tacit agreements, and view social change as occurring in a slow and orderly fashion."²

James Farganis writes the following about structural functionalism:

Rules and regulations are understood, by the functionalist, as codes and enactments designed to benefit the totality rather than the expressions of a dominant class or particular interest with privileged access to decision-making power. Functionalism in this respect is set apart from Marxian explanations of social order, in which coercion is seen as the ultimate reason people obey rules and abide by codes and laws.³

Certain passages in Scripture, in my estimation, square well with the ideas of structural functionalism.

Romans 12:4-8 not only speaks about inequality in terms of gifts, but uses the human body as a metaphor for the Church:

For as in one body we have many members and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the encourager, in encouragement; the giver, in sincerity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Similar to how structural functionalism suggests that humans have a proclivity for disorder, Ephesians 2:3 describes humans as being "children of wrath" by nature.

1 Corinthians 1:10-12 also affirms that it is important for Christians to have shared norms and values: "Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you but that you be knit together in the same mind and the same purpose." As this summary by BibleProject notes, the book addresses issues of "sexual misconduct, confusion about food and worship practices, and controversy surrounding Jesus’ resurrection."

Notes

1. David A. Fraser and Tony Campolo, Sociology Through the Eyes of Faith (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1992), 112.

2. George Ritzer, Sociological Theory (8^th edition, New York: McGraw Hill, 2011), 236.

3. James Farganis, Readings in Social Theory: The Classic Tradition to Post-Modernism (6^th edition, New York: McGraw Hill, 2011), 157.