Editing Sociology of religion (section)

===Rationalism===
[[Rationalism|Rationalists]] object to the [[Phenomenological model|phenomenological]] and [[Structural functionalism|functionalist]] approaches, arguing that these approaches fail to understand why believers in systems of non-scientific knowledge think that their ideas are right, even when science has shown them to be wrong.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/rationalism|title=Rationalism|last=Blanshard|first=Brand|date=July 22, 2016|website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> Rationalists say that one cannot explain forms of knowledge in terms of the beneficial psychological or societal effects that an outside observer may see them as producing and emphasize the importance of looking at the point of view of those who believe in them.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=McLeod|first=Stephen K.|date=2009|title=Rationalism and Modal Knowledge|url=https://philpapers.org/rec/MCLRAM-2|journal=Critica|volume=41|issue=122|pages=29–42}}</ref> People do not believe in [[God]], practice [[Magic (supernatural)|magic]], or think that [[Witchcraft|witches]] cause misfortune because they think they are providing themselves with psychological reassurance, or to achieve greater [[Group cohesiveness|social cohesion]] for their social groups.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Stewart-Williams, Steve, 1971–|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/668413625|title=Darwin, God, and the meaning of life : how evolutionary theory undermines everything you thought you knew|date=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-511-90213-0|location=Cambridge|oclc=668413625}}</ref>

Rationalists see the history of modern societies as the rise of scientific knowledge and the subsequent decline of non-rational belief. Some of these beliefs, such as magic and [[witchcraft]], had disappeared, while others, such as [[religion]], had become [[marginalized]]. This rationalist perspective has led to [[secularization]] theories of various kinds.<ref name="Wilson1982" />