Durkheim on Religion : A Selection of Readings with Bibliographies and Introductory Remarks

The famous French sociologist Emile Durkheim is universally recognised as one of the founding fathers of sociology as an academic discipline. He wrote on the division of labour, methodology, suicide and education, but his most prolific and influential works were his writings on religion, which culminated in his controversial book The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. Although his influence continued long after his death in 1917, this is the first book to provide a detailed look at the whole of his work in the field of religion. Durkheim on Religion is a selection of readings from Durkheim's writings on religion, presented in order of original publication, ranging from early reviews to articles and extracts from his books. Also included are detailed bibliographies and abstracts together with contributions by such writers as Van Gennep, Goldenweiser and Stanner. This book will be invaluable to those studying sociology and anthropology, but will also be of interest to those studying the history or philosophy of religion, as well as to anyone with an interest in Durkheim. Emile Durkheim is universally recognised as one of the founding fathers of sociology with his work enabling sociology to be accepted as a discipline within the academic world. The famous French Sociologist produced works on division of labour, methodology, suicide and education, but none as prolific as his work on religion, culminating in his controversial book The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. Although his influence continued long after his death in 1917, this is the first work to look in detail at his work in the whole field of religion. What is presented here is a selection of translations from Durkheim's work on religion, beginning with early reviews and proceeding with articles and extracts from books, presented in order of original publication. Also included are detailed bibliographies and abstracts together with contributions by such writers as Van Gennep, Goldenweiser and Stanner. Front Cover 1 Title page 2 Durkheim on Religion 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 The translations 10 Notation 12 Abbreviations 13 Introduction 14 Chapter One: Review 'Herbert Spencer-Ecclesiastical Institutions: being Part VI of the Principles of Sociology' 26 Chapter Two: Review 'Guyau-L 'l"eligion de l'avenir, etude desociologie' 37 Chapter Three: Suicide: a Study in Sociology 52 Egoistic suicide I 52 II 56 III 61 IV 68 Chapter Four: 'Individualism and the intellectuals' 72 I 73 II 75 III 79 IV 83 Chapter Five: 'Concerning the definition of religious phenomena' 87 I 89 II 100 III 106 Chapter Six: 'Religious systems of primitive societies' 113 Chapter Seven: The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life: the Totemic System in Australia 115 Introduction: The Subject of the Research I 115 II 123 III 125 IV 146 V 152 VI 152 Conclusion 157 I 158 II 169 Chapter Eight: 'Religious systems of primitive societies' 180 Chapter Nine: Review 'Levy-Bruhl-Les Fonctions mentales dansles societes inferieures' and 'Emile Durkheim-Les Formes elementaires de la vie religieuse Le systeme totemique en Australie' 182 Chapter Ten: Review with M. Mauss 'Frazer-Totemism and Exogamy, vol. IV' and 'Durkheim-Les Formes elementaires de la vie religieuse. Le systeme totemique en Australie' 187 Chapter Eleven: Contribution to discussion 'Religious sentiment at the present time' 194 Some Answers to Questions: 1 200 2 201 3 202 4 202 Chapter Twelve: Moral Education 203 Secular Morality 203 Other authors 216 Chapter Thirteen: Review 'E. Durkheim-Les.Formes elimentaires dela vie religieuse. Le systeme totemique en Australie' 218 Chapter Fourteen: Review 'Emile Durkheim-Les Formes elimentaires de la vie religieuse. Le systeme totemique en Australie. 1912' 222 Theory of Religion 223 Theory of Totemism 225 The Theory of Social Control 229 Theory of Ritual 233 Theory of Thought 236 Chapter Fifteen: 'Dogmatic atheism in the sociology of religion' 241 I (i) 241 I (ii) 243 I (iii) 245 I (iv) 249 II (i) 254 II (ii) 256 II (iii) 263 II (iv) 267 II (v) 278 Chapter Sixteen: 'Reflections on Durkheim and aboriginal religion' 290 Notes 315 References 315 Bibliography 318 Abstracts 336 A note on the life of Gaston Richard and certain aspects of his work 356 Notes 370 II 359 III 366 IV 368 Back Cover 373 Religion,translations,Durkheim,sociology,anthropology,religious lifestyles AcknowledgementsThe translationsNotationAbbreviationsIntroductionDurkheim1. Review. 'Herbert Spencer - Ecclesiatical Institutions'2. Review. 'Guyau - L'Irreligion de l'avenir'3. Suicide. Book II, chapter 24. 'Individualism and the intellectuals'5. 'Concerning the definition of religious phenomena'6. Note. 'Religious systems of primitive societies' (I)7. The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life: the Totemic System in Australia8. Note. 'Religious systems of primitive societies' (II)9. Review. 'Levy-Bruhl - Les Fonctions mentales dans les societes inferieures' and 'Durkheim - Les Formes elementaires de la vie religieuse'10. Review with M. Mauss. 'Frazer - Totemism and Exogamy' and 'Durkheim - Les Formes elementaires de la vie religieuse'11. Contribution to discussion. 'Religious sentiment at the present time'12. Moral Education. IntroductionOther authors13. A. van Gennep 14. A.A. Goldenweiser15. G. Richard16. W.E.H. StannerBibliographyAbstracts. Durkheim and ReligionA note on the life of Gaston Richard and certain aspects of his workName indexSubject index Durkheim is universally recognised as one of the founding fathers of sociology with his work enabling sociology to be accepted as a discipline within the academic world. What is presented here is a selection of readings from Durkheim's work on religion, beginning with early reviews and proceeding with articles and extracts from books, presented in order of original publication. Also included are detailed bibliographies and abstracts together with contributions by such writers as Van Gennep, Goldenweiser and Stanner Durkheim is universally recognized as one of the founding fathers of sociology with his work enabling sociology to be accepted as a discipline within the academic world. What is presented here is a selection of readings from Durkheim's work on religion, beginning with early reviews and proceeding with articles and extracts from books, presented in order of original publication. Also included are detailed bibliographies and abstracts together with contributions by such writers as Van Gennep, Goldenweiser and Stanner [edited By] W.s.f. Pickering. New Translations By Jacqueline Redding And W.s.f. Pickering. Originally Published: London ; Boston : Routledge & K. Paul, 1975. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. A comprehensive selection of readings from Durkheim's writings on religion, providing both a useful summary of his work and a succinct overview of the development of his thinking.