Breaking down the question
The question asks you to state the reasons behind the diverse religious beliefs and practices found in pre-modern societies. The operative demand is explanatory — why do such societies develop the beliefs and rituals they do — rather than merely descriptive.
The examiner is testing your grasp of the classical sociological and anthropological accounts of primitive or pre-modern religion. You are expected to draw on the major theories — animism, naturism, totemism, the functions of magic and ritual — and to connect belief to the social and material conditions of small-scale societies.
At 10 marks, breadth with economy is key. You should present several distinct reasons, each anchored in a recognised theorist, and show that religion in pre-modern societies performed intellectual, emotional and social work.
How to approach it
Begin by noting that in pre-modern societies religion was not a separate compartment of life but suffused kinship, economy and politics, so its beliefs and practices must be explained in relation to those conditions.
Then set out the reasons as distinct strands — the attempt to explain natural forces and dreams, the projection of the group onto sacred objects, the management of anxiety in the face of uncertainty, and the reinforcement of solidarity. You can direct readers to our note on the types of religious practices for elaboration.
Conclude by drawing these threads together: religious beliefs and practices in pre-modern societies were rational responses to intellectual, emotional and social needs, given the limited technical control such societies had over their environment.
Model answer
In pre-modern societies religion was pervasive, interwoven with kinship, subsistence and authority rather than set apart as a distinct institution. Classical sociology and anthropology offer several complementary reasons for the varied beliefs and practices found in such societies.
A first reason is intellectual: the attempt to explain a puzzling world. Edward Tylor argued that early peoples, reflecting on dreams, death and visions, arrived at the idea of a soul, and by extension attributed spirits to natural objects and forces — the doctrine of animism. Max Muller, by contrast, traced religion to naturism, the awe and reverence inspired by powerful natural phenomena such as the sun, storms and rivers, which were personified and worshipped. Both located the origins of belief in the effort to make sense of experience.
A second reason is social. Emile Durkheim, studying totemism among Australian aboriginal clans, argued that the sacred totem was in reality a symbol of the clan itself, so that in worshipping their god men were unknowingly worshipping society. Religious beliefs and practices arose because collective gatherings generated an effervescence that bound members together and expressed the reality of the group. The division of the world into sacred and profane, and the rituals surrounding the sacred, functioned to reaffirm shared sentiments and sustain social solidarity.
A third reason is emotional and practical. Bronislaw Malinowski observed among the Trobriand Islanders that magic and religious ritual clustered around situations of danger and uncertainty — deep-sea fishing, illness, death — where technical knowledge ran out. Religion and magic relieved anxiety, restored confidence and helped individuals and groups cope with crises that they could not otherwise control. Rites of passage surrounding birth, initiation, marriage and death gave order and meaning to the critical transitions of life.
A fourth reason lies in the material conditions of pre-modern life. With limited technology and precarious control over nature, such societies faced constant uncertainty in the food quest, in health and in reproduction. Beliefs in spirits, ancestors and sacred forces, and the practices of sacrifice, propitiation and taboo, offered a means of influencing an unpredictable world and of regulating conduct in the absence of formal institutions.
In conclusion, the varied religious beliefs and practices of pre-modern societies can be traced to a convergence of reasons — the intellectual need to explain nature, the social need to express and strengthen the group, the emotional need to manage anxiety, and the practical need to cope with a world only partly under human control. Far from being irrational, these beliefs and practices were coherent responses to the conditions of pre-modern existence.
Examiner's perspective
The examiner is looking for a genuinely explanatory answer that marshals the classical theories rather than a vague description of primitive customs. A frequent shortcoming is to describe rituals without stating why they arose, or to name a single theorist and neglect the range of available explanations.
The strongest answers organise the reasons into clear strands — intellectual, social, emotional and material — and attach each to a recognised theorist such as Tylor, Muller, Durkheim or Malinowski. A closing remark that these beliefs were rational adaptations to the conditions of pre-modern life demonstrates analytical control within the 10-mark limit.