THE ELEMENTARY FORMS OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE EMILE DURKHEIM _The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life_ TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY JOSEPH WARD SWAIN M.A. _LONDON_ GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD RUSKIN HOUSE MUSEUM STREET FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1915 SECOND IMPRESSION 1926 THIRD IMPRESSION 1954 FOURTH IMPRESSION 1957 FIFTH IMPRESSION 1964 _This book is copyright under the Berne Convention. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, 1956, no portion may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiry should be made to the publisher._ _© George Allen & Unwin Ltd. 1915_ PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY HOLLEN STREET PRESS LTD LONDON W.1 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION SUBJECT OF OUR STUDY: RELIGIOUS SOCIOLOGY AND THE THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE PAGE I.--Principal subject of the book: analysis of the simplest religion known to determine the elementary forms of the religious life--Why they are more easily found and explained in the primitive religions 1 II.--Secondary subject of research: the genesis of the fundamental notions of thought or the categories--Reasons for believing that their origin is religious and consequently social--How a way of restating the theory of knowledge is thus seen 9 BOOK I PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS CHAPTER I DEFINITION OF RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA AND OF RELIGION Usefulness of a preliminary definition of religion; method to be followed in seeking this definition--Why the usual definitions should be examined first 23 I.--Religion defined by the supernatural and mysterious-- Criticism: the notion of mystery is not primitive 24 II.--Religion defined in connection with the idea of God or a spiritual being.--Religions without gods--Rites in deistic religions which imply no idea of divinity 29 III.--Search for a positive definition--Distinction between beliefs and rites--Definition of beliefs--First characteristic: division of things between sacred and profane--Distinctive characteristics of this definition--Definition of rites in relation to beliefs--Definition of religion 36 IV.--Necessity of another characteristic to distinguish magic from religion--The idea of the Church--Do individualistic religions exclude the idea of a Church? 42 CHAPTER II LEADING CONCEPTIONS OF THE ELEMENTARY RELIGION I.--_Animism_ Distinction of animism and naturism 48