Emile Durkheim Religion

Emile Durkheim discusses in great detail the connection between social life and religion in the writing The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. He highlights religion as a functionality in society that offers collective ideas about what is deemed morally acceptable. Emile Durkheim examines how symbols and rituals are categories of religion that can be considered fundamentally sacred or profane. “Most important, objects are intrinsically neither sacred nor profane; rather, their meaning is continually altered in collective process of ritualization and symbolization” (Durkheim in Appelrouth and Edles 2016:124).
When studying religion and social life, Emile Durkheim came to the conclusion that society came before religion; in order for there
Symbols can either be sacred, profane, and sometimes both. The American flag symbolizes freedom for many people. Flags can be profane by being put on a key or a bumper sticker, but we as a society are constantly creating sacred things out of profane or ordinary things. The American flag is sacred to many because it has been decided by the public that it symbolizes liberty and equality for all. If a man were to burn the flag he would be violating a social norm. Americans have come to an agreement that the flag needs to be respected and if individuals disrespect the flag, they will pay the consequences. The flag is a symbol that is regarded sacred to devoted Americans. Emile Durkheim explains that things that may have been secular were turned sacred by bringing about a ritual. A symbol can be profane, but when there is a ritual tied to a symbol this brings about a sacred element. The flag is a symbol connected with a ritual, which is saying the pledge of allegiance. Durkheim mentioned the clan should rely on the idea of the totem or symbol rather than that of the clan. Durkheim mentioned it is no longer about the clan but rather about the morals and ideas behind the totem or the symbol. It is no longer about the individual but the collective ideas and what is common to the clan, which in this case is the flag (totem). During a ceremony or ritual, the symbol is the center of all regards. It is what represents collective ideas and meanings and is categorized as fundamentally sacred by the community. “Thus social life, in all its aspects and in every period of its history, is made possible only by a vast symbolism” (Durkheim in Appelrouth and Edles 2016:136) (Appelrouth and Edles