A 9+ page paper about the applications of two theories in the sociology of religion: Marxist theory, which concentrates on religion as an immaterial construction which distracts human beings from their alienated state with regard to the material world, and Durkheim’s more anthropological sociology of religion, which explains the phenomenon as a collective behavior that cements ties between community members and strengthens society in general. Applications of these theories to the current state of religious practice are discussed in detail.