Thus, wile one anthropological theory is that magic an religion give men confidence, comfort and the sense of security, it could equally well be argued that they give men fears and anxieties from which they would otherwise be free - the fear of black magic or of spirits, fear of God, of the Devil, of Hell. Actually, in our fears or anxieties as well as in our hopes we are conditioned (as the phrase goes) by the community in which we live. And it is largely by the sharing of hopes and fears, by what I have called common concern in events or eventualities, that human beings are linked together in temporary or permanent associations.

(A. R. Radcliffe-Brown "Structure and Function in Primitive Society: Essays and Addresses")