The Elementary Forms of Religious LifeIn The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912), Emile Durkheim sets himself the task of discovering the enduring source of human social identity. He investigates what he considered to be the simplest form of documented religion - totemism among the Aborigines of Australia. For Durkheim, studying Aboriginal religion was a way 'to yield an understanding of the religious nature of man, by showing us an essential and permanent aspect of humanity'. The need and capacity of men and women to relate to one another socially lies at the heart of Durkheim's exploration, in which religion embodies the beliefs that shape our moral universe. The Elementary Forms has been applauded and debated by sociologists, anthropologists, ethnographers, philosophers, and theologians, and continues to speak to new generations about the intriguing origin and nature of religion and society. This new, lightly abridged edition provides an excellent introduction to Durkheim's ideas. |
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"religion is the soul of society" definition of religion - pg. xxi, 13, 46
Contents
A Definition of the Religious Phenomenon and of Religion | 25 |
The Leading Conceptions of Elementary Religion | 47 |
The Leading Conceptions of Elementary Religion | 63 |
Totemism as Elementary Religion | 76 |
Central Totemic Beliefs | 87 |
Central Totemic Beliefs | 101 |
Central Totemic Beliefs | 109 |
Central Totemic Beliefs | 121 |
The Notion of Soul | 183 |
The Notion of Spirits and Gods | 203 |
The Negative Cult and its Functions | 221 |
The Positive Cult | 243 |
The Positive Cult | 261 |
The Positive Cult | 276 |
Piacular Rites and the Ambiguity of the Notion of | 289 |
Select List of Anthropologists and Ethnologists | 344 |
Common terms and phrases
Alcan ancestor animal or plant animists Annee sociologique Arunta aspect attributed Australian Baiame become beliefs blood body Bunjil Carl Strehlow central Australia ceremonies churingas clan collective common conceived conception consciousness cult distinct divine Durkheim Edward Burnett Tylor efficacy Elementary Forms elements emblem Emile Durkheim empiricism essential existence experience explain express external fact faith feelings Frazer gods human ideal images imagined impersonal individual totem Intichiuma kind kinship living logical magic Marcel Mauss Mauss means mental merely mind moral Moreover mourning mythic myths Native Tribes nature notion object observed organization origin particular person phenomena phratry practices primitive profane prohibitions reality reason relations religion religious forces religious thought represent representations rites ritual Robertson Smith role sacred things sacrifice seems sensations sense simple social society sort Spencer and Gillen spirit Strehlow subincision symbols theory tion totemic principle totemic species Witchetty Grub Wollunqua
References to this book
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Elementary Forms of Religious Life Oxford world's classics |
| Authors | Émile Durkheim, Carol Cosman, Mark Sydney Cladis |
| Editor | Mark Sydney Cladis |
| Translated by | Carol Cosman |
| Contributor | Mark Sydney Cladis |
| Edition | abridged, illustrated |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press, 2001 |
| ISBN | 0192832557, 9780192832559 |
| Length | 358 pages |
| Subjects | › › Social Science / Sociology / General Social Science / Sociology of Religion |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |