Durkheim

• What did Durkheim argue about all societies?

  They divide the world into sacred and profane
• What basic form of society did Durkheim study?

  The Australian Aboriginal Clan
• How did Durkheim link society and religion?

  He stated 'God is society and society is God'
• Why did individuals categorize the world in terms of sacred and profane?

  They felt determined by a higher power or mana
• What did Durkheim mean by 'common ways of acting and thinking'?

  He referred to the 'collective conscience' of society
• How did Durkheim view the relationship between God and society?

  God was a consequence of society, and vice versa
• What role did religious practice play in society according to Durkheim?

  It brought individuals together and recreated society
• Why was the calendar of worship important for hunter-gatherer clans?

  It united the clan members.
• What did Durkheim mean by 'Let the idea of society go out of the mind of the individual and society will die'?

  Society relies on individuals' perception of it