Functionality of Religion: Emil Durkheim’s Elementary Forms of Religious Life

Religion is a pivotal aspect in society to date with a diverse array of religions known to be practised in Australia, creating opportunities to embrace individuality though also sparking social divisions. French sociologist, Emile Durkheim described religion as “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 into one single moral community”(Jones, 2011). So how does religion influence Australian society? With a vast incline in religions practised in Australia, it is extremely feasible to presume that it does affect Australia significantly. It is through cultural diversity, morality and ethics and laws in which the true relevance of religion in Australian society can be identified.

Freud illuminates with slight sarcasm how convenient religion is in it's ability to rectify all the trials and tribulations of life for us. "Everything that happens in this world is an expression of the intentions of an intelligence superior to us, which in the end, though its ways and byways are difficult to follow, orders everything for the best." (Freud, 23) The existence of this divine creature who creates justice for us ensures that the masses will not stray from the laws and beliefs of religion and society for fear of being judged by this entity. Religion is also valuable to civilization for it's ability to explain death. Thanks to religion, death became something other than simply the termination of a life. Death stopped being the end and was recasted into the role of a doorway to another existence. As though knowing that the continuation of life were not enough, religion furthers it's own appeal by promising that the afterlife will be better than life on Earth. The afterlife itself also serves a function as well. A desire to gain entry into this afterlife will cause many of the masses to renounce their instincts.

Religion is the belief and worship of a higher power. Every religion is important and special in their own way. There are three major aspects with religions such as, beliefs, history, and rituals that all come together to create and shape the ways of a religion. Today, religion is one of the most violent and controversial reasons behind some of the most breaking news you see on television. Religion makes people who they are and is the foundation for all societies and cultures.

While both Sigmund Freud and Emile Durkheim are concerned with the study of human behaviour as it relates to culture, each does so from within distinct traditions. In terms of religion, Freud’s approach belongs to the psychological tradition, while Durkheim puts forward a sociological approach. In the Freudian view, human behaviour is largely driven by inborn and intangible “drives”, working in the unconscious. Such phenomena are not directly observable, that is, they are non-empirical; they must consequently be inferred, and as such are conjectural. Durkheim’s sociological method, on the other hand, utilises direct empirical observations of social phenomena (rites, rituals, customs, et cetera), looking to account for the impetus behind and purpose of group behaviour. Hence Freud is concerned with obscure, intangible internal phenomena, whereas Durkheim is concerned with overt and tangible external phenomena. Evidently, the theoretical positions in question to a degree divide between internal and external motivations.

Durkeim took the area of religions on, and looked at the moral interpretations of human beings. Basically, he saw that people who practiced religions and phiosophies whole heartly thought thtey were dong so out of true religion, he sees religion as fulfilling a social function. Durkheim observed that someone who belives is stronger and feels within themselves that a force and withstand things that are put forth in life (Jones, 1986). He also saw religious beliefs as a way to avoid being labeled deviant. Durkheim became associated with William James who had the theory of religious beliefs being based upon real experiences(1986). Durkheim also believed that religion was neccessary, because it is hard for a society to live through change and

Throughout my childhood, I have been nurtured in communal values, having been raised in the security of a tightly-knit Jewish community. My appreciation of my family and religious background have led me to want to pursue studies in the field of religion, more specifically the nature of G-d who has, until now, played a vital part in my life and shaped my values, beliefs and behaviour. I have a constantly questioning mind and, through my involvement with a religious community, I have developed an interest in the origin and nature of religious belief, and religion's role in society. This recently led me to Emile Durkheim's The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, in which he attempts to yield an understanding of religion by investigating Australian

Whitehead views religion as what an individual does while in solitary. To understand religion, it must be focused on the individual. Durkheim believes that society controls what values in religion are important. In my opinion, I think being able to understand religion needs to be focused on the societal views. Durkheim makes a point about how religion is declared as a private matter, when in reality, it is a creation of a community. The book goes on to talk about how religion creates cohesion within society. I think individual religions have their own set of beliefs and values that is decided upon by the group. This is what makes religion more of a societal focus rather than individual.

According to author Randall Collins, Emile Durkheim has been deemed sociologies most famous representative (Collins, The Durkheimian Tradition, 211.) The Durkeimian Tradition is “sociology’s most original and unusual set of ideas but revolutionary in the same sense ” (Collins, 211). Durkheim contributed an insightful view on the role of religion and how “God is the symbol of the society and its moral power over individuals” (Collins, 211.) By proving that “religion is the moral foundation of society” simply shows the dire need of religion in order to live. As a result of following any religion comes a consistent ritual, no matter what steps it consists of and a link to social interaction. According to Durkheim, rituals are instrumental in the process of providing concepts or ideas that directly echo the structure of society (Collins, 212.) Durkeim’s original beliefs still apply to the structure of society today. Though it may not be solely focused on religion, people identify themselves within other social groups. I myself identify to be apart of a social group with my involvement in the women’s basketball team at Hofstra. Like other student-athletes, there is an obvious distinction of athletes around campus and noticeable segregation between athletes and regular students. Durkheim discussed rituals that took place amongst those who followed a religion, and like that social group; my team performs

Religion has been a powerful force in human history. Mankind has longed and searched for the answers to its purpose, the reason for being and the possibility of life after physical death. They reasoned that an afterlife would be a place of accounting and reckoning for the life they lived on earth. Religious belief systems seemed to give the answers as to how to prepare for the afterlife. Religion became the means of giving answers to those basic yet deep-seated questions of both life and death. Religion provided a format of rules and laws for conduct and treatment toward others based on the desires and wishes of a god or gods that people envisioned, imagined or invented. Religious belief systems have been a powerful force for good and bad...good in the sense that it provided a measure of individual behavior and order in society for the wellbeing of the whole, but bad in the sense that men of ambition who craved power and control over others would often use religion as a tool of manipulation and fear. A casual glance of history tells us that complete civilizations have been built, grown and maintained around elaborate religious systems, ancient Egypt being a prime example.

Durkheim’s focus of study is the aborigines in Australia. He seeks to understand the simplest form of religion. In studying their form of religion, he finds that a religion at its most basic forms needs three basic components satisfied: an idea of the sacred and profane, a set of rites and rituals, and a moral community. The aborigines have a religion based around a totem, or a sacred symbol that represents their division of

Religion, as defined by the High Court of Australia, is ‘a complex of beliefs and practices which point to a set of values and an understanding of the meaning of existence’ (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005) and can be studied either substantively or functionally (Berger 1974:126). Substantive studies of religion fall predominantly in the realm of theology and are more concerned with defining religious beliefs; their historical accuracy; and the existence of supernatural entities (Holmes, Hughes & Julian 2007:425). Sociology however, concerns itself primarily with the relationship between religion and society, examining religion as a social construction (Van Krieken et al. 2010:350-1) and concerned only with the substance of

Because Durkheim’s main interest was the ways in which society is bound together, he investigated the role and the origin of religion in various communities. He believed that a simpler society has a simpler religion. Durkheim claims that, “a religion as closely connected to a social system surpassing all others in simplicity may well be regarded as the most elementary religion we can possibly know” (Ritzer, 91). For instance Durkheim argues that totemism a religious system in which animal figures are regarded as sacred is among the simplest religious forms in the world. The totemic animal, Durkheim believed, was the original focus of religious activity because it was the emblem for a social group, “the clan” (Ritzer, 91). He thought the model for the relationships between people and the supernatural was similar to the relationship between individuals and the community. For him the function of religion was to make people willing to put the interests of society ahead of their desires. He also believed religion is an important part of society and that the functions of religion are to maintain the equilibrium in the society.

The crux of Emile Durkheim’s The Elementary Forms of Religious Life lies in the concept of collective effervescence, or the feelings of mutually shared emotions. Through a hermeneutical approach, Durkheim investigates the reflexiveness of social organization, the balance between form and content, and the immense cooperation in collective representations. In his work, society is the framework of humanity and gives it meaning, whereas religion acts as the tool to explain it. Since society existed prior to the individual, the collective mind must be understood before the concept of the individual can be grasped. However, one component seems missing from his social theory – what underlies society in terms of rituals and rites? Only when this

· Provides meaning: Religion provides meaning to life and makes sense of our experiences. It justifies suffering in terms of testing faith, punishment or rewarding afterlife. It answers fundamental questions and helps us understand why things happen. Malinowski ---------- Malinowski sees religion as reinforcing social norms and values and promoting social solidarity.

Emile Durkheim is a sociologist, born 1858 in northeastern France. As a young boy he was also, strongly affected by a schoolteacher who was Romance Catholic. The influence by the school teacher may have contributed something to his general interest in religious endeavors but they did not make him a believer (86). Durkheim spent much of his academic career studying religions, especially those of small societies. The toteism, or primitive kinship system of Australian aborigines, primarily interested him (98). This research formed the basis of Durkheim 's 1921 book, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, a well know book on the sociology of religion. Durkheim viewed religion with the context of the entire society and acknowledged societies influences of thinking and behaviors by the members