Durkheimian Approaches to Theorizing the Sacred Essay.
Religion is regarded as the cement of the society through which people are driven into a
sacred and devoted belief or reverence of a supreme being. It is through this aspect of life that
values and ideas of a society are held and integrated together. A large number of scholars and
philosophers have explored into the pillars of religion and postulated different theories on how
they perceive it. Emile Durkheim is one renowned sociologist who is remembered for the
contributions he made in defining secular and sacred concepts.
ORDER A CUSTOM-WRITTEN, PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
Durkheim believed that religion was merely a reflection of the human race where the ways of worship combined with rituals are
an effective context that explained a society’s stand on matters of faith. Durkheimian Approaches to Theorizing the Sacred Essay.This paper is a brief
essay that explores Durkheim’s approaches and how he put forward theories that defined the
sacred.
Task for the Essay:
Write a paper on how those drawing on the Durkheimian tradition theorize the sacred and
its role in shaping social life. Speak about the issue on the extent to which we live in sacred or
secular world.
Main Heading 1: Durkheim’s stand on religion and its social origin
The argument postulated by Durkheim with regards to religion is that is acts as a robust
foundation that gives unique identity to a specific group of people in a given society. This
philosopher goes ahead to affirm that religion gives people meaning in their lives by relating
with one sacred figure of authority (Shilling and Mellor, 2013). Durkheimian Approaches to Theorizing the Sacred Essay.Moreover, it is through the belief
in a higher power that the social norms and morals of a society become more reinforced and
safely stored within a community. The depiction of sacred people according to Durkheim is that they have strong adherence to it and see it as more than a simple fantasy. Hence, religion is a
highly essential and fundamental aspect that contributes significantly to shaping the social part of
life (Gane, 2007).
The assertions of this philosopher go ahead to state that religion and issues that revolve
sacred things are important because they provide a sense of social control and at the same time
give people a meaningful purpose. What’s more, individuals that consider themselves as
religious tend to exhibit a realistic sense of cohesion (Obadia, 2014). Durkheim affirms that there
are certain elements of religion can be used to define and identify with a given culture. This is
where the scholar distinguishes behaviors into the sacred and the secular.
Main Heading 2: The sacred and secular according to Durkheim’s viewpoint
The views and opinions held by Durkheim on the sacred were mainly derived from his
personal life as a Jew who had to grow up in France where the majority of people were
Catholics. This environment made his experience a lot of oppression and prejudice from the
French citizens (Fournier, 2014). Consequently, his adult life was filled with atheist beliefs
because he came to understand the stand of different people when it comes to their respective
religions. As such, Durkheim believed that the center of focus when it comes to religion is the
intense commitment that comes with serving or worshipping a supreme being coupled with one’s
one sanctity (Fournier, 2014). Durkheimian Approaches to Theorizing the Sacred Essay.
This scholar also goes ahead to emphasize the fact that religion is actually a strong force
that obliges people to have a sense of morality and adhere strictly to the norms of society.
ORDER A CUSTOM-WRITTEN, PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
Durkheim stand was rather different because according to him, he saw religion as a product of
different societies (Datta and Milbrandt, 2014). This means that people are responsible for their
beliefs, intuitions and practices when it comes to preservation of divine matters. The conclusion made by Durkheim was that religion has its own common matters that
make it a topic of spiritual importance. This included the objects and figures used in devotion,
the rituals and rites as well as the behaviors that are deemed highly necessary in a community
(Shilling and Mellor, 2013). One the other hand, the secular things in life are all other objects
that do not hold any divine meaning or function (Gane, 2007). Interestingly, Durkheim points out
the fact that the secular and the sacred depend on each other and they are closely related. This is
because the secular people cannot exist without the sacred ones providing their support to them.
Durkheim concludes by affirming that the things that are given more superiority and
respect are sacred while the ones that are beyond this scope are secular (Datta and Milbrandt,
2014). What’s more, this scholar goes ahead to provide a list of characteristics that can be used
to identify secular people in a society. One of them is the absence of a belief in a supreme force
of power which is in turn replaced by one’s own sense of glorification or gratification. Secondly,
secular people tend to uphold things that are profane and have no sense of morality (Datta and
Milbrandt, 2014).
Main Heading 3: The dichotomy of the sacred versus the profane
The notion hypothesized by Durkheim when it comes to religion is the fact that practices
and beliefs that are holy glorify a supreme being and the things that try to set them apart outright
secular. The main issues that this philosopher raised when it came to matters of profanity are the
personal desires and fantasies of people. Moreover, things can also be considered as profane if
they are very distant from what is holy and divine (Datta and Milbrandt, 2014). Durkheim noted
that the nature of anything that is sacred brings out goodness and happiness while the reverse is
true for secular aspects. He also goes further to provide a detailed account of the development
and persistence of various faiths in the past societies (Shilling and Mellor, 2013). The discussion of Durkheim when it comes to the sacred things vis-à-vis the secular ones provides a sense of
appreciation into beliefs and practices that characterize different religions.
Conclusion
Religion and profanity are two contrary aspects that have the potential of strengthening a
society or tearing it apart. The portrayal of these two themes by Emile Durkheim shows how
issues of divinity and holiness are perceived differently across cultures. The fact that Durkheim
himself was raised up as a Jew who had to face humiliation while growing up in France partially
contributed to his stand on religion and issues of a secular nature. The social development and
origin of religion according to this scholar is based upon the reinforced morals and norms that
have been practiced over time. The clear categorization of life into being secular or sacred shows
how people strive to identify their purpose in life and live cohesively with others in a similar
society. Durkheimian Approaches to Theorizing the Sacred Essay.
DETAILS
Students are to write a paper on how those drawing on the Durkheimian tradition theorize the sacred and its role in shaping social life. They are to speak to the issue of the extent
to which we live in sacred or secular world.
The student’s paper must demonstrate a serious engagement with 5 required readings from weeks 1-3 inclusive. APA scholarly citation and referencing practice must be rigorously followed. Style, tone and writing craft must be of a scholarly nature as expounded in Armstrong et al, 2005. Hardcopy accepted. Must be formatted as per instructions on Blackboard handout (to be posted).
ORDER A CUSTOM-WRITTEN, PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
THE ATTACHED READINGS MUST BE CITED IN ADDITION TO OTHER EXTERNAL SOURCE
FORMAT
- INTRODUCTION
- MAIN HEADING 1
- MAIN HEADING 2
- MAIN HEADING 3
- CONCLUSION
KINDLY SEE FROM THE ATTACHMENT WHAT EACH SECTION MIGHT REQUIRE
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DISCLAIMER: Unless otherwise stated, all the used sources MUST be accessible and available in EBSCOHOST as PDFs (Note that not all Ebscohost articles have a PDF icon). The chosen article thus MUST HAVE A PDF ICON. Durkheimian Approaches to Theorizing the Sacred Essay.
References
Datta, R. P., & Milbrandt, T. H. (2014). The Elementary Forms of Religious Life: Discursive
Monument, Symbolic Feast. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 39(4), 473-522.
Fournier, M. (2014). The Elementary Forms As A Collective Work: Henri Hubert And Marcel
Mauss' Contributions To Émile Durkheim's Later Sociology Of Religion. Canadian
Journal Of Sociology, 39(4), 523-546
Gane, M. (2007). Defending The Durkheimian Tradition: Religion, Emotion And
Morality/Durkeim's Ghosts: Cultural Logic And Social Things. Sociology, 41(1), 169-
172. Durkheimian Approaches to Theorizing the Sacred Essay.
Obadia, L. (2014). Is Durkheim's "Sociologism" Outdated? Debating "Individualism" In
Contemporary French Sociology Of Religion. Canadian Journal Of Sociology, 39(4),
547-566
Shilling, C. and Mellor, P. 2013. ‘Making things sacred’: Re-theorizing the nature and function
of sacrifice in modernity Journal of Classical Sociology 13(3) 319–337.
Durkheimian Approaches to Theorizing the Sacred Essay.