Since ancient Egypt, if not long before, hats have served the practical (protection against heat and cold) and the symbolic (religious function, military rank, social status).

FORBES

Sing's family is highly respected because of its religious function.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | A Royal Tribe Under Threat

Breaking with religious teachings that the sole function of sex ought to be procreation and that any other erotic pursuit was sinful, Reich offered a new and defiantly humanist perspective, asserting that sexual pleasure was beneficial indeed, necessary to human flourishing, and that, when it came to orgasms, the more the merrier.

NEWYORKER: Novelty Acts

In some such places, so-called non-state players (from warlords to private firms to religious leaders) are about the only things that really function at all.

ECONOMIST: UNESCO is better at naming enemies than finding friends