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Religion usually exercises a stabilizing-conserving function.

As such it acts as an anchor for the people.

There is a marked tendency for religions, once firmly established, to resist change, not only in their own doctrines and policies and practices, but also in secular affairs having religious relevance.

It has thus been a significant factor in the conservation of social values, though also in some measure, an obstacle to the creation or diffusion of new ones.

It tends to support the longstanding precious sentiments, the traditional ways of thinking, and the customary ways of living.

As Yinger has pointed out, the `` reliance on symbols, on tradition, on sacred writings, on the cultivation of emotional feelings of identity and harmony with sacred values, turns one to the past far more than to the future ''.

Historically, religion has also functioned as a tremendous engine of vindication, enforcement, sanction, and perpetuation of various other institutions.