Émile Durkheim: Religion and Society

Émile Durkheim: Religion and Society

Durkheim’s major book “The Elementary Forms of Religious Life” (1912) has been regarded as one of the most profound and most original work upon Religion. The book contains a description and a detailed analysis of the ‘clan system’ and of “totemism in the Arunta tribe” of Australian aborigines, elaborates a general theory of religion derived from a study of the simplest and most “primitive” of religious institutions, and outlines a sociological interpretation of the forms of human thought which is at the heart of contemporary sociology of knowledge.

Accordingly, Durkheim defines religion as “a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden-beliefs and practices which unite in one simple moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to it” (Durkheim, 1995, p. 44). Beliefs and practices unite people in a social community by relating them to sacred things. This collective sharing of beliefs, rituals, etc., is essential for the development of religion.

Durkheim proposed that religion serves as a fundamental institution in society, providing a framework for moral order and social integration. He argued that religion is not just a reflection of individual beliefs but is deeply ingrained in the social fabric, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world around them.

Religion and Society

According to Durkheim, a religion comes into being and is legitimated through moments of what he calls “collective effervescence.” Collective effervescence refers to moments in societal life when the group of individuals that makes up a society comes together in order to perform a religious ritual. His work laid the foundation for the sociological study of religion and emphasized its role in shaping social cohesion and collective consciousness. An explanation of Durkheim’s main ideas is provided below:

1. Durkheim began with a refutation of the reigning theories of the origin of religion. Tylor, the distinguished English ethnologist, who supported the notion of “animism”, i.e., spirit worship as the most basic form of religious expression. Max Muller, the noted German linguist, put forth the concepts of “naturism”, i.e., the worship of nature’s forces.

2. Durkheim rejected both concepts of Tylor and Max Muller because he felt that they failed to explain the universal key distinction between “the sacred and the profane” and because they tended to explain religion away by interpreting it as an illusion, that is, the reductionist fallacy.

3. Durkheim’s theory of religion is that throughout history men have never worshipped any other reality, whether in the form of the totem or of God, than the collective social reality transfigured by faith (Collective Conscience, Social Fact).

4. According to Durkheim, the essence of religion is a division of the world into two kinds of phenomena, the sacred and the profane.

5. Durkheim viewed religion within the context of the entire society and acknowledged its place in influencing the thinking and behaviour of the members of society.

6. The sacred refers to things human beings have set apart, including religious beliefs, rites, deities, or anything socially defined as requiring special religious treatment. Participation in the sacred order, such as in rituals of ceremonies, gives a special prestige, illustrating one of the social functions of religion. “The sacred thing, is par excellences that which the profane should not touch and cannot touch with impunity.” The profane is the reverse of the sacred. “The circle of sacred objects, cannot be determined once for all. Its existence varies infinitely, according to the different religions.”

7. The structural-functional approach to religion has its roots in Emile Durkheim’s work on religion. Durkheim argued that religion is, in a sense, the celebration and even (self-) worship of human society. Given this approach, Durkheim proposed that religion has three major functions in society:

(a)  It provides social cohesion to help maintain social solidarity through shared rituals and beliefs, social control to enforce religious-based morals and norms to help maintain conformity and control in society,

(b)  It offers meaning and purpose to answer any existential questions.

(c)   Religion, he argued, was an expression of social cohesion.

8. Religion, for Durkheim, is not imaginary, although he does deprive it of what many believers find essential. Religion is very real; it is an expression of society itself, and indeed, there is no society that does not have religion. Religion is an expression of our collective consciousness, which is the fusion of all of our individual consciousness, which then creates a reality of its own.

9. Durkheim took “Totemism” among the Australian tribes as the key concept of explain the origins of religion. Ordinary objects, whether pieces of wood, polished stones, plants or animals, are transfigured into sacred objects once they bear the emblem of the totem. Durkheim writes: Totem, refers to an implicit belief in a mysterious or sacred force or principle that provides sanctions for violations of taboos, inculcates moral responsibilities in the group, and animates the totem itself.

10. According to Durkheim, the essence to Totemism is the worship of an impersonal, anonymous force, at once immanent and transcendent. This anonymous, diffuse force which is superior to men and very close to them is in reality society itself.

11. Durkheim believed he had solved the religious-moral dilemma of modern society. Religion is nothing but the indirect worship of society. Modern people need only express their religious feeling directly toward the sacred symbolization of society. The source and object of religion, Durkheim pointed out, are the collective life – the individual who feels dependent on some external moral power is not a victim of hallucination but a responsive member of society.

Durkheim’s theory is his insistence on the reality of these religious phenomena. As he argues, the social forces that animate a society’s religious life are real, and are really felt by the participants. While it is a mistake for an individual to believe that this power emanates directly from the sacred object, or is somehow intrinsic to the sacred object, behind the symbol manifesting the force is a living and concrete reality. Consequently, all religions are true, at least symbolically, for they express a power that does exist, the power of society. Religion, religious belief, and the religious experience cannot, therefore, be dismissed as mere fantasies or illusions.

References

Cracking IAS Academy. (2023, May 12). IAS Google – Cracking IAS Academy. Retrieved April 24, 2024, from https://iasgoogle.com/news/critically-examine-the-relevance-of-durkheim-s-views-on-religion-in-contemporary-society-upsc-cse-mains-2022-sociology-paper-1

Emile Durkheim: Religion and society. - TriumphIAS. (2020, June 18). Triumph IAS. Retrieved April 24, 2024, from https://triumphias.com/blog/emile-durkheim-religion-and-society/

Emile Durkheim - UPSC Notes » LotusArise. (2022, August 4). LotusArise. Retrieved April 24, 2024, from https://lotusarise.com/emile-durkheim-division-of-labour-upsc/