SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION

ASSIGNMENT

Name: Eesha Priya Submitted to: Prof. Gopa Sabharwal

Roll no: 1360 Semester: III
Date of Submission: 12/12/22

Ques. Describe the relationship between social and religious with reference to Durkheim.

This essay is an attempt to analyze the relationship between social and religious with reference to
Durkheim’s theory of religion in ‘The Elementary Forms of Religious Life’. This essay will also
discuss collective effervescence, significance of sacred and profane, social origin of religion and
social solidarity.

It is important to look at the starting point of Durkheim’s analysis, his definition of religion: “A
religion is 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 single moral community called a
Church, all those who adhere to them”. There are, thus, three fundamental elements to every
religion: sacred objects, a set of beliefs and practices, and the existence of a moral community. Of
the three, perhaps the most important would be the notion of the sacred, which is the point around
which any religious system revolves. It is that which inspires great respect and admiration on the
part of society and what is set apart and keeps believers at a distance. Durkheim contrasts the
sacred with the notion of profane, or that which desecrates the sacred and from which the sacred
must be protected, making the opposition between sacred and profane a central element of
Durkheim’s theory. With this definition Durkheim also puts an emphasis on the social element of
religion. Durkheim argues that such an interpretation of phenomena is socially learned, and could
only be the effect of an already established religion, not its cause. With this said, it is now time to
examine how Durkheim believes a religion originates and operates.

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. During these moments, the group comes together and communicates in the same
thought and participates in the same action, which serves to unify a group of individuals. When
individuals come into close contact with one another and when they are assembled in such a
fashion, a certain “electricity” is created and released, leading participants to a high degree of
collective emotional excitement or delirium. This impersonal, extra-individual force, which is a
core element of religion, transports the individuals into a new, ideal realm, lifts them up outside of
themselves, and makes them feel as if they are in contact with an extraordinary energy.
“If religion has given birth to all that is essential in society, it is because the idea of society is the
soul of religion."
[excerpt from The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life]

According to Durkheim, religion is the product of human activity, not divine intervention. He thus
treats religion as a sui generis social fact and analyzes it sociologically. In a certain sense, then,
Durkheim is investigating the old question, albeit in a new way, of the origin of religion. It is
important to note, however, that Durkheim is not searching for an absolute origin, or the radical
instant where religion first came into being. Such an investigation would be impossible and prone
to speculation. In this metaphysical sense of origin, religion, like every social institution, begins
nowhere. Rather, as Durkheim says, he is investigating the social forces and causes that are
always already present in a social milieu and that lead to the emergence of religious life and
thought at different points in time, under different conditions.

Durkheim's finding that religion was social can best be described by this excerpt from The
Elementary Forms:

“The general conclusion of the book which the reader has before him is that religion is something
eminently social. Religious representations are collective representations which express collective
realities; the rites are a manner of acting which take rise in the midst of assembled groups and
which are destined to excite, maintain, or recreate certain mental states in these groups. So if the
categories are of religious origin, they ought to participate in this nature common to all religious
facts; they should be social affairs and the product of collective thought. At least -- for in the
actual condition of our knowledge of these matters, one should be careful to avoid all radical and
exclusive statements -- it is allowable to suppose that they are rich in social elements."

Recognizing the social origin of religion, Durkheim argued that religion acted as a source of
solidarity and identification for the individuals within a society, especially as a part of mechanical
solidarity systems, and to a lesser, but still important extent in the context of organic solidarity.
Religion provided a meaning for life, it provided authority figures, and most importantly for
Durkheim, it reinforced the morals and social norms held collectively by all within a society. Far
from dismissing religion as mere fantasy, despite its natural origin, Durkheim saw it as a critical
part of the social system. Religion provides social control, cohesion, and purpose for people, as
well as another means of communication and gathering for individuals to interact and reaffirm
social norms.

Durkheim's second purpose was in identifying certain elements of religious beliefs that are
common across different cultures. A belief in a supernatural realm is not necessary or common
among religions, but the separation of different aspects of life, physical things, and certain
behaviors into two categories -- the sacred and the profane -- is common. Objects and behaviors
deemed sacred were considered part of the spiritual or religious realm. They were part of rites,
objects of reverence, or simply behaviors deemed special by religious belief. Those things
deemed profane were everything else in the world that did not have a religious function or hold
religious meaning. But while these two categories are rigidly defined and set apart, they interact
with one another and depend on each other for survival. The sacred world cannot survive without
the profane world to support it and give it life, and vice versa. In general, those aspects of social
life given moral superiority or reverence are considered sacred, and all other aspects are part of
the profane. For example, the Catholic Church respects the crucifix and the behaviors and actions
performed during mass as sacred, while other behaviors and objects are not. While Native
American societies differed greatly in the details, those religions also held certain objects and
behavior sacred, such as certain animals and the rituals and rites performed by the shaman. This
division of things into two separate but interacting spheres is common among all religions.

Durkheim used the totemic religion of Australian aborigines to develop his theory of religion.
Aboriginal society was divided into a number of clans, and members of the clan had certain
obligations that had to be fulfilled – such as mourning the death of other clan members or helping
seek vengeance if another member was wronged by someone external to the clan. Each clan was
also exogenous – people had to marry someone outside of the clan.

Each clan had a totem, typically an animal or a plant which was represented by drawings or
carvings made on wood or stone, typically linked to a ‘creation myth’ that explained the origins of
that clan and linked current members into that history. The totem served to distinguish the clan
from all other clans.

To clan members, the totem was a sacred object, nothing less than ‘the outward and visible form
of the totemic principle or god’ – their animal/ plant was sacred and the totemic representation
just as sacred if not more so.

Durkheim’s ‘big idea’ is that by worshiping the totem, clan members are actually worshiping
society, and thus individuals are reminded that society is more important than the individual,
which is essential in Functionalist theory because individuals are dependent on society.

Durkheim, concerned with social solidarity throughout his academic career, was primarily
concerned with religion as a functional source of social cohesion. As said before, religion acts to
pull people together (mentally and physically, in the form of religious services or assemblies). By
doing so, religion is able to reaffirm collective morals and beliefs in the minds of all members of
society. This is important, because if left to their own for a long amount of time, the beliefs and
convictions of individuals will weaken in strength, and require reinforcement. Religion maintains
the influence of society -- whereas "society" represents the norms and beliefs held in common by
a group of individuals.

Conclusion

If these moments of collective effervescence are the origin of religious feelings, religious rituals
must be repeated in order to reaffirm the collective unity of a society, otherwise its existence is at
risk. Durkheim remarks that if the societal forces central to the religious life of a society are not
re-animated, they will be forgotten, leaving individuals with no knowledge of the ties that exist
between them and no concept of the society to which they belong. This is why religious ritual is
necessary for the continued existence of a society; religion cannot exist through belief alone-it
periodically needs the reality of the force behind the belief to be regenerated. This takes place
through various religious rituals, in which collective beliefs are reaffirmed and the individual
expresses their solidarity with the sacred object of society, or with society itself. The form the
specific ritual takes can vary greatly, from funerals to rain dances to patriotic national holidays,
but its goal is always the same. Through these rituals, society maintains its existence and
integrates individuals into the social fold, exerting pressure on them to act and think alike. While
Durkheim’s analysis is of explicitly religious contexts, it is important to note that the ritual
interaction processes he describes take place in different and less formal contexts as well. Ritual
processes can be considered a part of daily life and are instrumental in regulating group
solidarities and interpersonal relationships in different social institutions and at different levels of
formality.