The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Durkheim, Émile, 1858-1917

Contributor:

Swain, Joseph Ward, 1891-

Standardized Title:

Les formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse. English

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life" by Émile Durkheim is a scientific publication written in the early 20th century. In this work, Durkheim explores the most primitive and simple forms of religion, aiming to analyze and explain the essential components of the religious experience and its fundamental role in society. He seeks to understand how religious beliefs and practices are rooted in collective social realities, which, in turn, reflect the nature of humanity itself. At the start of the book, Durkheim outlines his methodology and the scope of his study, emphasizing the importance of examining primitive religions to uncover universal aspects of all religious practices. He argues against preconceived notions of religion, asserting that one must approach the subject with an open mind to fully appreciate the distinct characteristics of religious phenomena. Durkheim highlights the division between the sacred and the profane, establishing this duality as a foundational concept in understanding religious thought and behavior. He critiques existing definitions of religion that rely on supernatural elements or the concept of divinity, advocating for a broader perspective that includes a variety of beliefs and practices across different cultures. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Credits:

Produced by Ruth Morrison, Tor Martin Kristiansen and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

Notes:

Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elementary_Forms_of_the_Religious_Life

Reading ease score: 57.2 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read.

Release date is 2012-11-13