Durkheim

Question 1

intro - thought

Answer 1

• Wanted to separate himself from the metaphysical positivism of Comte and Spencer
• Society = sui generis reality (reality unique to itself)
  o Individual consciences have fused to form new reality that is better than its parts individually
• ‘social facts’ = able to influence individual part of collective
• collective effervescence = moments when individuals come together in ritual
• project energy onto external symbol – power is determined by representation collective
• religion allows individual to represent to themselves society and their relationship to it

Question 2

intro - primitive religion

Answer 2

• Located in a simply organised society
• Should not need prior religious explanation
• Need to dig deeper in order to understand the true value of their symbolic meaning
• Need an understanding of primitive religions before one can begin to evaluate the more modern, complex religions. History is important for identifying causes/development
  Tend to be more homogeneous, not affected by outside world

Question 3

intro - role of sociology

Answer 3

• The role of sociology is to ‘explain a present reality that is near to us and thus capable of affecting our ideas and actions’ (1)

Question 4

intro - defining religion

Answer 4

• All religions possess an element of truth. Can rank according to power etc. but ultimately, ‘all are equally religious, just as all living beings are equally living beings’ (2)
• ‘Religion is an eminently social thing’ (9)
• ‘Religious representations are collective representations that express collective realities’ (9)
• Definition of religion should not arise from preconceptions but rather from reality itself

Question 5

intro - role of history

Answer 5

• ‘As (religion) progresses historically, the causes that called it into existence… are seen no more except through a vast system of distorting interpretations’ (7)
  o in studying primitive religion, we can more clearly see its causes
• ‘The study I undertake is a way of taking up again the old problem of the origin of religions but under new conditions’ (7)

Question 6

intro - ritual

Answer 6

• ‘At the foundation of all systems of beliefs and all cults, there must necessarily be a certain number of fundamental representations and modes of ritual conduct that… have the same objective meaning everywhere’ (4)
  However… D recognises how this is difficult given the variation within a single religion

Question 7

intro - a priori vs. a posteriori

Answer 7

• There has always been conflict between views of knowledge as a priori vs. a posteriori
  o D argues that experience is not enough
  o It is often thought that the superior/perfect reason is divine reason but this doesn’t meet scientific hypothesis
• The conflict can be avoided if one adopts a social stance
  o Categories of a priori/a posteriori can be viewed as ‘essentially collective representations’ (15)
  ♣ Depend on context
  o Reason continues to have its ‘specific power’ (18) but links it to the observable and empirical world

Question 8

intro - formation of collective representation

Answer 8

• Collective representations are created over time; ‘long generations have accumulated their experience and knowledge’ (15)
• Authority of society can be seen in the pressing of certain categories on us
  o These categories cannot be literally defined. Most successfully expressed in terms of ‘artificial symbols’ (17)
• To understand things that humans have not created ourselves, we must ‘look outside ourselves, observe history…’ (18)

Question 9

book 1 ch1 - religion and the supernatural

Answer 9

• Often conceived that religion must be associated with the supernatural
  o D argues that mystery is key aspect of REs e.g. Xianity but that this has not always been the case. E.g. 17th cent, RE was separated from all irrationality
  o However… this analysis of RE is not seen in primitive religions.
  o ‘It is the positive sciences that have gradually constructed this notion of a necessary order’ (26)
  o ‘Religious conceptions aim above all to express and explain not what is exception and abnormal but what is constant and regular’ (26)

Question 10

book 1 ch1 - religion and divinity

Answer 10

• Another characteristic associated with religion is divinity i.e. god(s)
  o This excludes tribes etc. as well as major REs like Buddhism
  o Divinisation of the Buddha is exclusive to Northern Buddhism. However, saint-like status of Buddha is different to divinity
  o The Buddha is usually viewed as a man of supreme holiness, not divine.
  o Role of Buddha was to reveal truth of salvation. Once this role was achieved, ‘he ceased to be a necessary factor in religious life’ (30)
  o Many rites in religions are separate to belief in God e.g. Bible tells women to live in isolation during their period – what is the relation of this to Yahweh?
  o Religion is broader than gods

Question 11

book 1 ch1 - defining religion

Answer 11

• In order to define religion, it is essential to ‘characterise the elementary phenomena from which any religion results’ (33)
  o Religious phenomena can be divided into beliefs and rites
  ♣ Beliefs = statements of opinion
  ♣ Rites = particular modes of action
  o ‘Religion is not merely a single cult… but is made up of a system of cults that possess a certain autonomy’ (39) e.g. in Xianity there is CofE, RCC etc.

Question 12

book 1 chi 1 - profane/sacred

Answer 12

o Absolute heterogeneity is enough to distinguish the sacred and the profane. They are ‘separate genera’ (36)
o Rites that transform an individual from profane to sacred show the complete opposition between the two worlds. In leaving the world of the profane, individuals are forced to engage with an extreme form of the sacred. E.g. monastic life
o ‘Sacred things are things protected and isolated by prohibitions; profane things are those things to which the prohibitions are applied and that must keep at a distance from what is sacred. Religious beliefs are those representations that express the nature of sacred things’ (38)
o it is when sacred things relate to eachother coherently that religions are formed. It is not formed through a single cause, but rather many parts joining together.
o ‘There is no religion… that does not acknowledge a plurality of sacred things’ (38) e.g. in Xianity, there is an acceptance of multiple doctrines e.g. Trinity, Virgin Birth etc.

Question 13

book 1, ch 1 - religion and magic

Answer 13

• Both have rites/myths/beliefs
• However… with magic, ‘these are less developed, probably because, given its pursuit of technical and utilitarian ends, magic does not waste time in pure speculation’ (39)
• ‘There is something inherently anti-religious about the manoeuvers of the magician’ (41) they often denounce aspects of religion.

Question 14

book 1 chi 1 - religion and the church

Answer 14

• ‘Even so-called private cults, like the domestic cult or a corporate cult, satisfy this condition: they are always celebrated by the group, the family or the corporation’ (41)
• Magic is not as unifying. More of a service/customer relationship than one of a Church, where people share a set of beliefs etc.
• However… if religion is associated with a Church, it excludes more personal beliefs/individual religions.
  D’s response: ‘these individual cults are not distinct and autonomous religious systems but simply aspects of the religion common to the whole Church of which the individuals are part’ (43)

Question 15

book 1 ch 1 - final definition of religion

Answer 15

o ‘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 into one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them’ (44)
‘In showing that the idea of religion is inseparable from the idea of a Church, it conveys the notion that religion must be an eminently social thing’

Question 16

book 1 ch4 - animists vs. naturalists

Answer 16

• Distinguishes the view of animists vs. naturalists
  o A = religion evolution originated from dreams
  o N = “….. cosmic manifestations
  o United in link between religion and natural origins
  o For D, this is insufficient and thus suggests that man is not inherently sacred

Question 17

book 1 ch 4 - totemism

Answer 17

• Totemism = more primitive cult
  o ‘the aim is to go beyond national and historical differences in order to arrive at the universal and truly human basis of religious life’ (91)

Question 18

book 1 ch 4 - social facts

Answer 18

o Social facts cannot be separated from their social systems. Different societies can be similar but ultimately, not fully compared as they are separate. Only same types can be compared.
o ‘We must concentrate our research on a clearly defined type of society rather than extend our research over all possible societies’ (92) Quality over quantity of research
o D limits himself to research of Australian societies, which are largely homogeneous

Question 19

book 2 ch 1

Answer 19

• Australian tribes
  o Emphasis on kinship within tribe. Feel that they are kin
• Totem = ‘species of things whose name a clan bears’ (101). Often animals/plants e.g. clouds
  o Certain sites become totems if it is believed that a mythical being was there
  o Often, child has totem of mother/father/mythical ancestor
• Clans bonded by particular fraternities = phratry
• ‘the totem is not simply a name; it is an emblem’ (111)
• often try and physically display totem e.g. through tattoos/dress

Question 20

book 3 ch 2

Answer 20

• provides examples of rites e.g. Intichiuma of Witchetty Grub clan at Alice Springs
  o Alatunja strikes sacred stones
  ♣ Dust is emitted. These re seeds of life
  o Carry tree branches to spread dust = impregnation
• Kangaroo Intichiuma at Undiara (Arunta)
  o Blood of kangaroos is spilled on rock to free spirits of animal-kangaroos. Result will be to increase their number

Question 21

conc - studying basic form of religion

Answer 21

• In studying most basic forms of religion, one can take the findings and apply them to more complex religions
• Wrong to purely associate religion with belief and knowledge. Emphasis should rather be placed on how religion impacts the way people behave/live
• ‘The cult is not merely a system of signs by which the faith is outwardly expressed; it is the sum total of mean by which that faith is created and recreated periodically’ (420)
• religious experience = subjective

Question 22

conc - social origins of religion

Answer 22

• Religion is represented by and caused by society. Society has power to arouse emotion. But, power of society can only be seen in action, where individuals act together
  o ‘Society is above all an active cooperation’ (421)
  o society is the source of religious life
  o science/magic all have religious origins
  o ‘nearly all the great social institutions were born in religion’ due to the fact that ‘society is the soul of religion’
• Viewing religion as social does not mean that it is ‘merely a refurbishment of historical materialism’ (426)

Question 23

conc - spirituality of religion

Answer 23

• all religions have a spiritual element. They seek to impact moral life
• the ‘ideal society’ pre-supposes religion. (423)
• However, religion cannot simply be associated with the positive. E.g. Satan exists as the anti-God but still exists within religion

Question 24

conc - collective religion and psychological effect

Answer 24

• ‘if collective awakens religious thought when it rises to a certain intensity, that is so because it brings about a state of effervescence that alters the conditions of psychic activity’ (424)
• Concentration of society has a moral effect due to the ‘onrush of psychic conditions’ (425)
• Faculty of idealisation is a ‘condition of existence’
  o Collective ideals can become individualised. But core stays the same

Question 25

conc - sui generis

Answer 25

- ‘If collective consciousness is to appear, a sui generis synthesis of individual consciousness must occur. The product of this synthesis is a whole world of feelings, ideas, and images that follow their own laws once they are born’ (426) - individual cults can be explained by the fact that they have failed to develop collective identity

Question 26

conc - religious belief

Answer 26

- need to believe in religious ideas in order for them to affect the soul o A true believer will be more successful in spreading ideas as they will want to tell people about their faith - Even in Australian tribal community, ‘men naturally become conscious of the moral kinship that unites them’ (428) o As a consequence of this recognition, tribes tend to amalgamate. - ‘Thus if sacred beings unconnected with any territorially defined society were formed, it is not bevause they had an extrasocial origin. Rather, it is because above these territorial groupings are others with more fluid boundaries’ (428)

Question 27

conc - eternal/powerful quality of religion

Answer 27

- Religion has eternal quality. Practices may diverge e.g. JC vs. exodus from Egypt, but the origin is the same - Religion is both a system of practice and ideas. These are quite different – action vs. thought - ‘A society is the most powerful collection of physical and moral forces that we can observe in nature’ (447)

Question 28

conc - religion and science

Answer 28

- Religion and science pursue the same goal. H, greater success of science means religion is placed in the background o D argues that RE continues to be a reality o Science cannot explain faith - ‘Religion seems destined to transform itself rather than to disappear’ (432) - science, unlike RE, remains distanced from action. RE is social. - Conceptual thought varies according to context. Can reveal hidden truths - Whilst RE is not objective like science, it contains its own truth that must be uncovered