Religion: Functional and Dysfunctional, From Daily Life To Become Media Coverage

Religion cannot separate human life. In the history of civilization, religion grows from animism to monotheism. Religion has several functions, first it and legitimation for limitation of human capability. For this function, man needs the “Others” to solve their problem and explain why their problem occurs. The second, religion has a social identity function. The purpose of this research is to find out and ensure that religion is a symbol of social solidarity. This study uses the literacy method, which is the source of library data for books and journal articles. The last on Marxist view religion is an illusion, legitimation of bourgeois exploitation, but in the otherwise, religion has a social critic function and a theology of liberation.


INTRODUCTION
Religion is one of the most sacred aspects in meeting the standard needs of human life (Sunardin, 2021). Religion both in the natural (religious) and cultural (belief) sense is something that cannot be separated from the history of human life.
The history of human civilization contains elements of religion ranging from polytheism to monotheism. Religion is not only needed by humans to fulfill their natural needs but also has various social functions and dysfunctions. The function of religion in primitive society is different from the function of religion in modern society. Primitive society generally adheres to polytheism which is more dominated by belief systems in their lives. This is different from modern society which is more dominated by the rational system Even so, the presence of religion is still needed in various aspects of life.

METHOD
This research on religion uses the literacy method. He became part of the qualitative method, by making the source of library data books and journal articles. This is because the researchers made the existence of religion brought by religious experts into the entrance of research.

Religion as Legitimacy of Human Limitations
Religion in the sense of a belief system in the existence of spiritual a part of human life (Taylor dalam Kahmad). Religion is also defined as a teaching or a system that regulates the system of faith (belief) and worship of God Almighty and the rules relating to the association of humans and humans and humans with their environment. (Zilli, 2018) As creatures who are religious creatures by nature (Notonagoro, 1976) humans have the belief that there is a transcendent power, namely a power that is beyond and above human strength and power. This Transcendent in the language of religion is called God, Allah, Sang Yang Widi, or other names. The belief in the Transcendent is a manifestation of weakness and at the same time human dependence on strength and power that is outside (read above) of him. As stated by Cliffe Brown that religion is essentially an expression of a form of human dependence on forces outside of himself (Scharf, 1995) Human belief in something transcendent is caused by their limited ability to understand and explain the various natural phenomena they encounter. Many natural phenomena cannot be explained and understood by humans with the ability of their minds.
The limited ability (reason) of humans has given birth to a belief in the existence of a Transcendent power, which creates and regulates everything that exists, including the existence of humans. Human belief is based on the limitations of the ability of reason (knowledge) is relative. This means that what is believed to be a Transcendent power for each society, even each individual will be different. Even these beliefs can change in line with the development of science and knowledge.
We can see this in the culture of society which was initially polytheistic and then developed towards monotheism. In primitive societies, their belief system is dominated by polytheism. For people whose knowledge is still low (primitive), many natural phenomena have no known explanation, including how the relationship between one phenomenon and another phenomenon is so that each is considered to have its strength. As a result, they believe in many gods as symbols of supernatural powers that are higher than human power and strength.
In primitive societies (read a low level of knowledge) their lives are more determined by a belief system (belief system) rather than a rational system (rational system) Their behavior is more governed by a belief system based on knowledge gained through experience in interacting with the natural environment surroundings.
Not all of the natural phenomena they see daily can be explained or understood by them. Their inability (limited knowledge) to explain various natural phenomena causes them to take the attitude that everything, including humans, has been determined by a force that is outside of themselves. Each individual and society has different knowledge and reasoning power. The endpoint of knowledge and reason (ultimate goal) is the starting point of their belief. Therefore, belief (animism to borrow Tylor's term) which is the essence of every religion, is also the result of reason (reason).
Although sometimes the beliefs held by society are judged by other people to be irrational, solely because of differences in the level of knowledge and reasoning, (L, Daniel, 2001). If someone does reasoning by combining ideas, he 260 | T h e J o u r n a l o f S o c i e t y a n d M e d i a 6 ( 1 ) finally arrives at a conclusion that is believed to be the truth, even though the conclusion is not necessarily logical.
Therefore, every society, of course, has religion as a natural need and at the same time as a construction of thought. As a natural need, because humans are aware of their limitations when faced with natural phenomena around them. The inability to explain these various phenomena raises awareness of their weakness.
This awareness of weakness in turn creates a need for something transcendent as a refuge. This belief in the Transcendent is then used as a guide in looking at this life. Therefore, Durkheim places religion as a social fact, namely a coercive force that is outside of humans (actors).
How the transcendent form is then constructed by their thoughts through personification and analogy to the reality they face every day. In a society that was still primitive, the Transcendent was personified with statues, and various heirlooms and animals. Their inability to relate various phenomena causes them to be unable to conclude that there are many powers. As a result, their beliefs are polytheistic.
This is different from a more modern society (rational), whose behavior is more guided by a system that they make themselves (rational system) rather than a belief system. Modern society sees natural phenomena as phenomena that -within certain limits-can be explained rationally. Although there are symptoms that cannot be explained yet, they believe that it is because the human mind (read science and technology) has not been able to reach them. With the advancement of science and technology, most natural phenomena can be explained rationally.
Take for example, if in the past, rural communities viewed natural events such as the occurrence of lunar and solar eclipses because there was an angry giant who then ate the moon and sun. Now the incident can be explained rationally.
A lunar eclipse occurs because the sun, moon, and earth are in one line.
The spherical shape of the earth causes some people who live in the back hemisphere cannot see the moon which is in the middle between the earth and the sun. Various natural events, such as lunar eclipses, solar eclipses, lightning, rain, floods, and volcanic eruptions can be understood and explained rationally thanks to advances in science and technology made by humans.
By assuming that the universe is a system, then the elements in the universe have a causal relationship so that changes in one element cause changes in other elements. Like the food chain in the animal kingdom, between aliens, deer, and grass. The rain that fell caused the fertile land to be overgrown with lots of grass. The abundance of grass causes deer to live and breed. The increasing number of deer causes lions to live and breed. On the other hand, in the dry season, the grass becomes dry, deer cannot reproduce properly, due to lack of food. As a result, the lion also has difficulty finding prey. These various natural phenomena can now be explained and known by humans thanks to advances in science and technology. For example, the causes of lunar and solar eclipses can be explained.
Even now it can be predicted when it will happen.
However, even in a rational society, the presence of religion is still needed.
However rational a person or society is, it also has limitations. Even rationality can also lead humans to believe in the existence of a Transcendent (God) as the prime cause (cause or creator of all that exists). The existence of religion can be seen as the legitimacy of human weakness. Human incompetence and weakness have created a need for trust in something that is believed to be a strength and power higher than himself. Therefore, religion will always be present in people's lives, even in a modern (rational) society.

Religion as Group Identity
Religion is often defined as a set of rules and regulations that regulate human relations with the unseen world, especially with God, with other humans, and regulate human relationships with their environment. responsive interaction to various situations faced by its adherents. Therefore, Durkheim said that religion is the collective consciousness of a society which at the same time becomes the binder and regulator of their behavior (Holborn, 2000). For Durkheim, the most important thing in religion is what is called belief and ceremonies (Turner, 1994) Belief and ceremony are two things that cannot be separated. Belief is in the form of thoughts, while ceremonies are in the form of actions. What is believed (thought) as truth will be realized in the form of actions in the form of ceremonies?
Durkheim saw religion as a belief system that constructs the way of thinking, acting, and feeling of each individual. By using a functional approach, he sees that the function of religion is to create, strengthen, and maintain collective 262 | T h e J o u r n a l o f S o c i e t y a n d M e d i a 6 ( 1 ) consciousness. This means Durkheim saw religion as a collective consciousness, not as an ideology.
As a collective consciousness, religion can unite various individuals and groups into one social and cultural bond. This is because in certain cases they have the same way of doing things and doing the same thing. The similarity of their perspectives and actions in carrying out religious teachings causes them to feel bound to one another. Their attachment to the same religious teachings causes each individual to feel part of the same community. Collective awareness to practice religious teachings has become their identity. Therefore, religion is also the identity of members of a group that can be easily recognized from the mindset and physical activities they do. For example, NU residents feel they have a brotherly bond (collective awareness) with one another. They have the same habits, for example, tahlilan. Tahlilan has become the hallmark of NU residents, as a form of collective awareness which is also their bond and identity. Their identity can be recognized from their behavior and habits, as a form of obedience to the teachings they believe in.

Religion as an Illusion
Religion for Freud is a libido drive that emerges from the unconscious realm. Therefore, Freud had the belief that religion would not be able to say much in life, because religion is an infantile madness (Ahmad, 2011 Marx thought that ideas were incapable of describing empirical reality in society because abstract nature. (Farihah, 2015). According to Mark, the workers are not only exploited by the capitalists, but also alienated (alienated) from production activities, the products produced, fellow workers, and their potential as human beings (Ritzer, 1996) Workers do a job they don't want to do. They are forced to do work (production activities) because they are only looking for wages to make a living. For Mark, work should be self-expression. They do work according to their choice and as a manifestation of themselves. This is impossible for the workers to do because they are ruled by other people (capitalists). The workers are also alienated from the products they make themselves. They make something they don't need. Take, for example, a worker in a car tire factory, even though they don't need tires, because they don't own a car. As a result, they are alienated from their products.
The workers are also alienated from their fellow workers. They have to work every day and deal with machines. Their desire to interact with fellow workers could not be fulfilled, because they had to work according to machine work. They have to concentrate on "serving" the work of the machine if they don't want to be hurt or fired by the employer for being careless in their work. As a result, the workers are also alienated from their potential as human beings. The workers are like machines that work according to the time rules that have been determined by the employer. They cannot decide for themselves when to enter, rest, and go home. Everything is determined by the employer.
The powerlessness to face the exploitation of the capitalists and the alienation of themselves causes the workers to construct religion as a form of "escaping" from reality. This is what Mark means that religion is the opium of society, as a means to relieve suffering and a sense of alienation. Even religion has also removed the revolutionary spirit of the workers to carry out a rebellion against the capitalists. Religion not only teaches about the beauty of life in another world for people who obey God but also teaches people to be patient and willing to accept everything that happens. With religion, the workers can calmly face the oppression and alienation they experience.

| T h e J o u r n a l o f S o c i e t y a n d M e d i a 6 ( 1 )
Mark emphasized, that it is not consciousness that determines the conditions of life, but the conditions of life that determine consciousness. If awareness determines the conditions of life, then religious people (eg those who have made the pilgrimage) will not commit corruption or other despicable acts, because God (their awareness of the existence of God and sin) will always be present at all times and guide their behavior. daily. Therefore, for Mark, religion is just an illusion for the oppressed (workers) who must be kept out of their lives.

Religion as Social Critic
Religious phenomena are in complex problems. Religion in the reality of humanity seems to have a dual face. On the one hand, religion is faced with the problem of conflict between religious communities. (MK Ridwan, 2016). Every religion, also has two dimensions, namely a subjective dimension and an objective dimension (Syafiq Muhni). The subjective dimension relates to the relationship between man and God which is not easy to measure, and only God knows. A person's piety cannot be seen from visible behavior (eg prayer, zakat, fasting), because all of that is determined by his intention. The only one who knows a person's intentions is himself and Allah, unless the intention is honestly disclosed to others. The objective dimension of religion is related to the teachings of how the relationship between humans and humans, for example upholding justice which not only applies equally to everyone but can also be accepted by all humans.
This relates to the universality of religion. Every religion assumes that its teachings are intended for all humans, not for a particular group of people, ethnicity, or nation. Therefore, there are common values taught between different religions.
Starting from the above conception, religion has three functions, namely: as a regulator of social behavior; as social criticism; and as an ideology. As a regulator of religious behavior, it is a dogma (social fact according to Durkheim) that is coercive. Every religion demands obedience from its adherents to behave following its teachings. Normative religious teachings (in the form of prohibitions and obligations) must be obeyed and implemented by adherents. Anyone who violates the norms or prohibitions and obligations will be punished by God.
Likewise, those who obey their teachings will get a reward. These rewards and punishments then motivate everyone to behave following religious teachings. For Religious teachings originating from the Most Perfect God are very ideal (read perfect) so that they become a reference and reference for a reality that is formed by humans. The function of religion as a social critic is also a consequence of the function of religion as a regulator of behavior. The ideals of religious teachings make it very difficult for most people to carry out these teachings. Even though the behavior taught by religion, for example, Islam has been exemplified by the Prophet Muhammad, only certain people (only a few people) can practice it well.
For this reason, religion becomes a social critique, against every system built by humans, because every system built by humans is imperfect (contains weaknesses and shortcomings).
While the function of religion is an ideology because religion is essentially a source of a picture of what this world should be. The image remains solid and provides the criteria set by the Supreme Being (God). However, sometimes this picture cannot be clearly understood by humans with their minds (perhaps because of a mistake in thinking or because there are certain interests). After all, religion is multi-interpretable (Bahtiar, 1998) This condition (the function of religion as an ideology) is often used by a person to justify his actions. So religion is used as a justification or an action based on his subjective understanding. There are conflicts between adherents of the same religion. We see that many political parties are different from Muslims. Many parties are based on Islam, but they are ideologically different. It is not uncommon for people to even commit acts of vandalism with excuses or excuses justified by religion.

Religion as Liberation Theology
Understanding religion as a social critique and at the same time as an ideology can lead to a very radical movement, such as what was done by Amrosi (the suicide bombing case in Bali) or the suicide bombing case that occurred in Surabaya in 2018. This is possible because religion is not a religion. only provide rules that must be followed by humans, but also provide rewards (rewards) in the form of a beautiful life (heaven) after death to those who carry out their teachings.
Even (in this case Islam) gives a reward to enter heaven for people who are willing to die to defend and uphold religious teachings. Such a belief can become a revolutionary spirit for marginal groups to articulate their encounter with a social order that is considered incompatible with religious teachings. What Amrosi and his friends did can be read in the framework of such a theory. They assume that the social order which is supported by the State has deviated from religious teachings. Therefore, according to them, such an arrangement must be corrected and replaced with an order that is following Islamic teachings according to their understanding.
Indeed, religion can also function as a challenge, especially for oppressed groups. As a social critic, in practice, religion can be revolutionary to fight and appreciate. This is of course different from what was stated by Mark, that religion is the opium of the people that take away the revolutionary spirit of the workers.
What happened in Latin America shows that religion (Catholicism) has become a spirit for oppressed groups to get away from the cruelty and arbitrariness carried out by authoritarian regimes ( (Wahono, 2000) The clergy have joined the struggle with the rebels against the authoritarian regime. This also happened in the Philippines, Cardinal Seen also took part in the people power movement to overthrow the Marcos regime. Although the Pastors fought with the rebels, they did not agree with the communist ideology championed by the rebels. Their struggle is based solely on the human motivation of suffering, and injustice, as taught by their religion.
The function of religion as liberation theology is related to religious teachings to uphold justice (objective dimension). This can be seen during the colonial period when religious elites mobilized the community (santri) to fight against the invaders because they were considered to be unfair and arbitrary towards the community. also carried out a protest movement against government policies that were deemed unfair by discrediting black people. Encouraged by religious teachings that human beings have the same dignity and worth, they fought against injustice in the form of discrimination against black people.

Religion as Political Legitimacy
In a political context, religion can function as a political identity, legitimizing power, public policy, as a national unifier, as a tool of protest (liberation theology), and as a means of mass mobilization (Smith, 1971) (Smith E. D., 1970) Religion as a political identity can be seen in political parties that make religion the basis or symbol of their party. In the 1999 elections, many political parties used religion as a party identity or as a party principle with the aim of gaining mass support through religious emotional ties. For example the Islamic Ummah Party (PUI), the Indonesian National Christian Party (KRISNA), the Catholic Democratic Party (PKD). In the 2004 elections, there were still many political parties that used religion as a symbol or principle.
The use of religion as a party symbol or principle is because religion is a collective consciousness (Durkheim) that is expected to bind its followers.
Although in practice, religious collective consciousness in politics has experienced a degradation of its function. Political parties that use religious symbols and the hegemony of religious elites are no longer able to become the dominant force in the political process, especially in a rational society.  (Smith E. D., 1970) religious elites in the political process have decreased. Ahok's case ahead of the 2017 DKI Pilkada is an example of the relationship between religion and politics.
In the political process, religion can also be used as a tool to mobilize the masses, especially through religious elites. Mass mobilization using religion was rampant after the reformation and during the Gus Dur era. Monumen is also a form of movement to influence political policy.
In the public sphere, we also see various social and political conflicts involving religion or religious teachings. The involvement of religious elites in various conflicts using religious teachings can distort the sacredness of religion as a universal truth. Religion is dysfunctional in society. Religion is no longer a neutral medium in resolving national conflicts, but instead becomes a source of conflict. Various social conflicts which involve religion include the Ambon and Poso cases. A conflict arose in the Arale sub-district, Polewali Mamasa Regency West Sulawesi, which was triggered by the division of the Polewali Mamasa Regency into two regencies, namely Polmas Regency and Mamasa Regency. The expansion of the region led to conflicts between residents who were proexpansion and those who did not agree with the expansion. The conflict was also rooted in past events involving religion (Kompas 19 October 2004).

CONCLUSION
The various events that have occurred in Indonesia and other countries show that religion is no longer a silencer or an effective instrument of a solution, but instead becomes a justification for the perpetuation of conflict. Religion is often used as a binder for social cohesion and as an emotional fire for the masses to fight against those who are considered outside their group (enemy). Religious languages such as bhuqot, in the era of Gus Dur's government, a government that was tyrannical, infidel, in the post-reformation era became a "burner" for potential social and political conflicts. In practice, religion is not only functional but also dysfunctional which can be a source of social and political conflict.