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Religion integrates and unifies.

Some of the oldest, most persistent, and most cohesive forms of social groupings have grown out of religion.

These groups have varied widely from mere families, primitive, totemic groups, and small modern cults and sects, to the memberships of great denominations, and great, widely dispersed world religions.

Religion fosters group life in various ways.

The common ultimate values, ends and goals fostered by religion are a most important factor.

Without a system of values there can be no society.

Where such a value system prevails, it always unifies all who possess it ; ;

it enables members of the society to operate as a system.

The beliefs of a religion also reflecting the values are expressed in creeds, dogmas, and doctrines, and form what Durkheim calls a credo.

As he points out, a religious group cannot exist without a collective credo, and the more extensive the credo, the more unified and strong is the group.

The credo unifies and socializes men by attaching them completely to an identical body of doctrine ; ;

the more extensive and firm the body of doctrine, the firmer the group.