Durkheim

• Durkheim(1915;1962): Sacred and Profane
• Sacred: set apart things that inspire awe,fear and wonder whilst being surrounded by taboos and prohibitions
• Profane: things without any special significance
• Durkheim (1915;1962): key feature of religion is not the belief in gods, spirits or supernatural but a fundamental distinction between profane and sacred
• Sacred objects evoke such feelings because the symbols represent the power of society or society itself
• Society is the only thing powerful enough to command such feelings
• Totemism: the worship of a totem holding cultural and social significance in a clan society
• Essence of all religion found in studying the worship of totems as religion in its simplest terms
• Durkheim studied the Arunta clan (Australian Aboriginal clan)
• Durkheim found that the worship of a totem reinforced group solidarity and created a sense of belonging
• Durkheim found that the totem inspired feeling of awe as it represented the power if the group on which the individual is 'utterly dependent'
• Collective Conscience: shared norms, values, beliefs and knowledge that make social life and cooperation between individuals possible - without, society would disintegrate
• Rituals reinforce collective conscience and remind individuals of the power of society without which they are nothing thus they owe everything
• religion performs the function of creating hope and motivation by individuals feeling as if they are a part of something bigger then themselves
• Primitive Classification - Durkheim and Mauss (1903;2009) : religion provides basic categories such as time, space and causation
• Durkheim 1903: Religion is the origin of human thought, reason and science = Cognitive Function of religion