Functionalist perspective of religion views religion as an important element of societal well-being. This perspective of religion believes that religion is everywhere because it performs positive functions in a society.
John Bowker, Emile Durkheim and Erich Fromm supports Functionalist perspective of religion and they all place a high importance on the relevance of religion in a society. They advocated that religion is a force that binds the society together in order to achieve common happiness and well-being.
On the other hand, Ludwig Feuerbach was a proponent of atheism and materialism. He did not place any belief on religion or super-natural being. His book 'The Essence of Christianity' contains critiques on Christianity and his other philosophical works also provide a number of critical inquiries on religion.
