The phenomenological approach is particularly associated with the work of Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann. Berger and Luckmann have put forward a phenomenological view of religion: Religion is produced by members of society subjectively interpreting and giving meaning to the world around them.

According to Luckmann, the function of religion can be understood to reduce uncertainty and complexity, to determine which seems to be indeterminate, and to make accessible what seems to be inaccessible. The supernatural dimension of religion, therefore, comes in handy because it serves to reduce complexity.

Berger and Luckmann argue that religion is probably the most effective mechanism for the legitimation of universes of meaning. Unlike other sources of legitimation, only religion links meaning with ultimate reality. In other words, according to Berger and Luckmann, religion is socially constructed as a means of responding to life’s uncertainties and disruptions.

For Berger and Luckmann, the sociology of religion is closely related to the sociology of knowledge. For Luckmann, an important function of religion is that it helps us acquire a sense of “self”, knowing who we are, and where we fit in, a world view that endows everyday life with ultimate significance. To the extent, with regard to Berger and Luckmann’s perspective, religion provides believers with crucial explanations and meanings that they use to make sense of their lives, not least during times of personal or social crisis.

As also understood from the information given, the correct answer is D. The arguments in the options I, II, III and IV are the arguments of phenomenological understanding of religion. The argument in the option V is Weber’s argument. In short, Weber’s writings on religion differ from those of Durkheim in that they concentrate on the connection between religion and social change, something to which Durkheim gave little attention. They contrast with the work of Marx, because Weber argues that religion is not necessarily a conservative force; on the contrary, religiously inspired movements have often produced dramatic social transformations.