Al-Warraq Library

Home / Psychology & Society / The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life

Psychology & SocietyThe Elementary Forms of the Religious LifeÉmile DurkheimThe Elementary Forms of the Religious Life

The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life

Émile Durkheim

Psychology & SocietyEnglish
0 views
Read the bookGutenberg book pageInternet Archive

Al-Warraq Library does not host book files; it takes you to the copy at the original source. Public-domain status differs from country to country, so check the law where you live before downloading or republishing the book. Do you hold rights in this work? Request its removal

What is religion, at its root? To find out, Émile Durkheim studies what he considers its simplest known form, the totemism of the Aboriginal peoples of…

Catalogue details

Author
Émile Durkheim
Category
Psychology & Society
Language
English
Source
Project Gutenberg

About this book

What is religion, at its root? To find out, Émile Durkheim studies what he considers its simplest known form, the totemism of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia, where each clan is linked to a sacred animal or plant. He defines religion as beliefs and practices concerning sacred things, set apart from the ordinary, which unite people into a moral community, and he argues that in worshipping the totem the clan is really worshipping the power of society itself, which it feels most strongly in the excitement of collective ceremonies.

Context and significance

Durkheim (1858–1917), a founder of sociology, published the book in 1912, and its ideas about the sacred, ritual and social solidarity still shape anthropology and the study of religion. This translation, of 1915, is by Joseph Ward Swain. Compare Frazer's The Golden Bough and William James's The Varieties of Religious Experience.

Similar books