Durkheim on Religion

If religion has given birth to all that is essential in society, it is because the idea of
society is the soul of religion."
(Bellah, 1973, p. 191 e!cerpt fro" The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life#$
"%or &e 'no& today that a religion does not necessarily i"ply sy"bols and rites, properly
spea'ing, or te"ples and priests. (his &hole e!terior apparatus is only the superficial
part. )ssentially, it is nothing other than a body of collective beliefs and practices
endo&ed &ith a certain authority."
(1973, p. *1 e!cerpt fro" "Individualis" and the Intellectuals"#$
The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, the last "a+or &or' published by ,ur'hei",
five years before his death in 1917, is generally regarded as his best and "ost "ature.
-here Suicide focused on a large a"ount of statistics fro" varying sources, The
Elementary Forms used one case study in depth, the .ustralian aborigines. ,ur'hei"
chose this group because he felt they represented the "ost basic, elementary for"s of
religion &ithin a culture.
,ur'hei" set out to do t&o things, establish the fact that religion &as not divinely or
supernaturally inspired and &as in fact a product of society, and he sought to identify the
co""on things that religion placed an e"phasis upon, as &ell as &hat effects those
religious beliefs (the product of social life$ had on the lives of all &ithin a society.
,ur'hei"/s finding that religion &as social can best be described by this e!cerpt fro"
The Elementary Forms:
"(he general conclusion of the boo' &hich the reader has before hi" is that religion is
so"ething e"inently social. 0eligious representations are collective representations
&hich e!press collective realities1 the rites are a "anner of acting &hich ta'e rise in the
"idst of asse"bled groups and &hich are destined to e!cite, "aintain, or recreate certain
"ental states in these groups. 2o if the categories are of religious origin, they ought to
participate in this nature co""on to all religious facts1 they should be social affairs and
the product of collective thought. .t least 33 for in the actual condition of our 'no&ledge
of these "atters, one should be careful to avoid all radical and e!clusive state"ents 33 it is
allo&able to suppose that they are rich in social ele"ents."
((ho"pson, 1945, p. 15* e!cerpt fro" The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life#$
0ecogni6ing the social origin of religion, ,ur'hei" argued that religion acted as a source
of solidarity and identification for the individuals &ithin a society, especially as a part of
"echanical solidarity syste"s, and to a lesser, but still i"portant e!tent in the conte!t of
organic solidarity. 0eligion provided a "eaning for life, it provided authority figures, and
"ost i"portantly for ,ur'hei", it reinforced the "orals and social nor"s held
collectively by all &ithin a society. %ar fro" dis"issing religion as "ere fantasy, despite
its natural origin, ,ur'hei" sa& it as a critical part of the social syste". 0eligion
provides social control, cohesion, and purpose for people, as &ell as another "eans of
co""unication and gathering for individuals to interact and reaffir" social nor"s.
,ur'hei"/s second purpose &as in identifying certain ele"ents of religious beliefs that
are co""on across different cultures. . belief in a supernatural real" is not necessary or
co""on a"ong religions, but the separation of different aspects of life, physical things,
and certain behaviors into t&o categories 33 the sacred and the profane 33 is co""on.
7b+ects and behaviors dee"ed sacred &ere considered part of the spiritual or religious
real". (hey &ere part of rites, ob+ects of reverence, or si"ply behaviors dee"ed special
by religious belief. (hose things dee"ed profane &ere everything else in the &orld that
did not have a religious function or hold religious "eaning. But &hile these t&o
categories are rigidly defined and set apart, they interact &ith one another and depend on
each other for survival. (he sacred &orld cannot survive &ithout the profane &orld to
support it and give it life, and vice versa. In general, those aspects of social life given
"oral superiority or reverence are considered sacred, and all other aspects are part of the
profane. %or e!a"ple, the 8atholic 8hurch respects the crucifi! and the behaviors and
actions perfor"ed during "ass as sacred, &hile other behaviors and ob+ects are not.
-hile 9ative ."erican societies differed greatly in the details, those religions also held
certain ob+ects and behavior sacred, such as certain ani"als and the rituals and rites
perfor"ed by the sha"an. (his division of things into t&o separate but interacting
spheres is co""on a"ong all religions.
"...sacred things are si"ply collective ideals that have fi!ed the"selves on "aterial
ob+ects."
(1973, p. 1*9 e!cerpt fro" "(he ,ualis" of :u"an 9ature and its 2ocial 8onditions"#$
,ur'hei", concerned &ith social solidarity throughout his acade"ic career, &as
pri"arily concerned &ith religion as a functional source of social cohesion. .s said
before, religion acts to pull people together ("entally and physically, in the for" of
religious services or asse"blies$. By doing so, religion is able to reaffir" collective
"orals and beliefs in the "inds of all "e"bers of society. (his is i"portant, because if
left to their o&n for a long a"ount of ti"e, the beliefs and convictions of individuals &ill
&ea'en in strength, and re;uire reinforce"ent. 0eligion "aintains the influence of
society 33 &hereas "society" represents the nor"s and beliefs held in co""on by a group
of individuals.
". religion is a unified syste" of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to
say, things set apart and forbidden 33 beliefs and practices &hich unite into one single
"oral co""unity called a 8hurch, all those &ho adhere to the"."
(1945, p. 159 e!cerpt fro" The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life#$
"(his syste" of conceptions is not purely i"aginary and hallucinatory, for the "oral
forces that these things a&a'en in us are ;uite real 33 as real as the ideas that &ords recall
to us after they have served to for" the ideas."
(1973, p. 1<= e!cerpt fro" "(he ,ualis" of :u"an 9ature and its 2ocial 8onditions"#$
"2ince it is in spiritual &ays that social pressure e!ercises itself, it could not fail to give
"en the idea that outside the"selves there e!ist one or several po&ers, both "oral and, at
the sa"e ti"e, efficacious, upon &hich they depend."
(1973, p. 171 e!cerpt fro" The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life#$
"2ince religious force is nothing other than the collective and anony"ous force of the
clan, and since this can be represented in the "ind only in the for" of the tote", the
tote"ic e"ble" is li'e the visible body the god."
(1973, p. 14> e!cerpt fro" The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life#$
"But fro" the fact that a /religious e!perience,/ if &e choose it this, does e!ist and that it
has a certain foundation ... it does not follo& that the reality &hich is its foundation
confor"s ob+ectively to the idea &hich believers have of it."
(1973, p. 19= e!cerpt fro" The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life#$
"(hat &hich science refuses to grant to religion is not its right to e!ist, but its right to
dog"ati6e upon the nature of things and the special co"petence &hich it clai"s for itself
for 'no&ing "an and the &orld. .s a "atter of fact, it does not 'no& itself. It does not
even 'no& &hat it is "ade of, nor to &hat need it ans&ers."
(1973, p. 5=* e!cerpt fro" The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life#$
2ources?
Bellah, 0obert 9. 1973.
Emile Durkheim: On Morality and Society, Selected ritings. 8hicago? (he @niversity of 8hicago Aress.
(ho"pson, Benneth. 1945.
Emile Durkheim. Condon? (avistoc' Aublications.