Religion and Functionalism

Early in his career, James develops the thesis that all human behavior is fundamentally an effort to adjust to one's environment, a Psychological principle usually referred to by others as 'Functionalism'.  Thus, when he later proposes that 'religious' experience be characterized as an 'adjustment' to unseen forces, he is offering a Functionalist definition of 'Religion', even if he presents it in that context as the generalization of a survey of a variety of practices.  However, he more than defines Religion in Functionalist terms: he sometimes grounds a defense of it on them, as well.  For example, he argues that the value of Prayer is that it serves as a psychological boost.  But, value depends on more than satisfaction of a definition--it entails comparison with alternatives on the basis of a similar criterion.  Thus, the value of a prayer as a confidence-booster during, say, an illness, entails comparison with that of a medical procedure with a long history of success.  In other words, James does not seem to consider the potential of Functionalism to expose the insufficiency of Religion.