Summary
Summary of The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life
Key ideas
Key idea 1
Religion gives society a sacred face
What if the gods people pray to are a picture of the people praying? Émile Durkheim begins with the question of what religion is and why every society has one. He turns to Aboriginal clans in Australia, studying their totems through other researchers’ reports.
From this case, he develops his central claim: religion is a way for a group to worship itself. Sacred symbols give society a visible form, allowing people to recognize a power they create together.
Key idea 2
The sacred matters more than gods
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Key idea 3
Religion expresses something real
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Key idea 4
The totem makes the clan visible
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Key idea 5
Sacred power comes from the group
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Key idea 6
The soul carries society within us
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Key idea 7
Ritual renews the life of groups
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Key idea 8
Shared life shapes how people think
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Key idea 9
Shared practices do real social work
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
For readers curious about why rituals bind people together, and students of sociology, anthropology and religion who enjoy exploring sacred symbols, ceremonies and the life of groups.
What this book is
What if the gods people pray to are really a picture of the people praying? In 1912 the French sociologist Émile Durkheim asks a blunt question. What is religion, and why has every society had one? He turns to the Aboriginal clans of Australia and their totems, known to him through the reports of other researchers. From that small case he draws a large claim. Religion is the way a group worships itself, and the sacred is society seen through symbols.
In this summary
- 1Define religion by the sacred, not godsFree
- 2Older theories of religion fall short
- 3Study the simplest society to find essentials
- 4Totemism ties each clan to a sacred emblem
- 5The sacred force is the clan itself
- 6Souls and spirits grow from social life
- 7Rites renew the group through shared fervor
- 8Logic and science grow out of religion
- 9The theory has been praised and challenged
Key point 1 of 9
Define religion by the sacred, not gods
Durkheim begins by clearing away a common idea. Many people think religion means belief in a god. But some great religions, such as early Buddhism, have no god at the centre. So he builds his definition on a split in the world between the sacred and the profane.
Sacred things are set apart and forbidden. They can be a rock, a tree, a word or a person. What makes them sacred is the respect people give them. The profane is the ordinary business of daily life.
A religion, he says, is a unified system of beliefs and practices around sacred things, and it unites its followers into one moral community. Religion is never only a private feeling, because it always belongs to a group.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
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Check yourself
What defines religion in Durkheim’s account?
Right. “A religion, he says, is a unified system of beliefs and practices around sacred things, and it unites its followers into one moral community.”Not quite. “A religion, he says, is a unified system of beliefs and practices around sacred things, and it unites its followers into one moral community.”
What does the clan’s god represent for Durkheim?
Right. “So the god of the clan can be nothing else than the clan itself, imagined in the form of its totem.”Not quite. “So the god of the clan can be nothing else than the clan itself, imagined in the form of its totem.”
Why do repeated gatherings matter in Durkheim’s account of ritual?
Right. “Afterward the feeling fades, and the next gathering is needed to restore it.”Not quite. “Afterward the feeling fades, and the next gathering is needed to restore it.”
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 223,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 14 h 50 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 12 other languages
Questions about The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life
What is The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life about?
It is a study of the origins and nature of religion. Durkheim examines Aboriginal totemism in Australia and argues that religion expresses the life of society, so the sacred is the group's own power seen through symbols.
What does Durkheim mean by sacred and profane?
The sacred means things set apart and forbidden, treated with special respect. The profane is ordinary daily life. Durkheim says all religions divide the world this way, and that any object can become sacred.
What is collective effervescence?
It is the surge of shared energy and emotion that people feel when they gather for a ceremony. Durkheim says this feeling gives rise to the sense of a higher power and renews the bonds of the group.
Why did Durkheim study Aboriginal Australians?
He believed their clan religion was the simplest known, so its essentials would be easiest to see. He never visited Australia and relied on reports by other researchers, which later critics have questioned.
Is The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life hard to read?
No. The book follows one clear line of argument, starting with a plain question: what is religion? Each part then builds on the last, from the definition to the Australian clans and their totems, so you always know where you are.
