In this essay as stated above I will be discussing about the contribution of one key thinker to the study of religion as well as their approaches and the strengths and weaknesses of their approaches And the key thinker in which I will be discussing today is Bronislaw Malinowski Bronsilaw Malinowski was born in April 1884 and died in May 1942 Malinowski was an anthropologist of the 20th and most who wrote about Malinowski mention that he was recognised to most as one of the founders of social anthropology as well as being recognised as one of the founders of anthropology Malinowski was a functionalist Being a functionalist Malinowski saw religion that religion to be something that create social cohesion as it is a way to help reinforce the norms and values of society Functionalists also see religion as a force that preserves the moral norms and values of society Malinowski s most important contribution to the study of religion is when he wrote an essay in 1925 called magic science and religion This can also be found in form of a book Malinowski argues religion must be seen as something that is the end in and of itself
