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[German Version] I. Religious Studies Systems theory considers religion one social system alongside others, like the economy, law (Law and Jurisprudence), politics, and education and analyzes it in terms of the function it discharges. The evolutionary approach of systems theory assumes that in primordial local communities the function of religion was nonspecific and was fulfilled in combination with other functions – military, economic, and familial. The transition to modern societies witnessed a differentiation from which religion emerged with its own system of roles and organization, with a focus on specific functions. T. Parsons viewed religion as a balancing agency, which establishes a system of cultural legitimation on the plane of “ultimate reality” (Brandt). Thus it fulfills a subordinate function that comes into play when other mechanisms of equilibrium fail, especially cultural mechanisms. While cultural values acquire social and individual relevance through institutionalization and internalization, it is the task of religion to safeguard these processes of institutionalization and internalization authoritatively by sacralizing cultural values. Thus for Parsons the primary function of religion was legitimation. By contrast N. Luhmann, especially in his l…