How Does Religion Affect Your Life: Durkheim's Framework

Introduction

Émile Durkheim’s The Elementary Forms of Religious Life was published to explain “how morality is operated by focusing on religion and his theory of religion” (Edles and Appelrouth 2015: 145) and by studying what their origins and functions are. Durkheim believed that understanding religion would help enlighten us of what makes up some of humanity’s societal fundamentals. He sees religion as one of the many main components that make up a society with cohesion, social control, and purpose in life serving as religion’s primary functions. Durkheim also argues that religion is eminent in any society and in many ways a requirement that upholds the foundation for society. Religious lifestyle inherently emerges throughout all societies through collective effervescence, that is, when communities or a society come together and simultaneously communicate the same thoughts and participate in the same actions. While many religious practices today operate very close to Durkheim’s framework, it only shows the framework of his own perception and experience of religion and its functionality. Durkheim explains how religion can promote social unity, but he left out the fact that it can also be a force of division. His ideas of religion aren’t completely wrong, but they aren’t exactly correct as a whole either.

The Societal Impact of Religion According to Durkheim

According to Durkheim, religion and social life are connected in a way where religion, as a component, influences how a society is shaped and allows individuals within those societies to share something in common. Historically speaking, humans are and always have been social creatures that gather into groups and rely on each other for survival. One way for humans to form or join a group is through religion, which allows them to collectively agree on an idea and provide a reason to come together. It would, in turn, influence the society they reside in and vice-versa. Religion helped create moral systems, communities, and a sense of purpose in life for individuals, as well as promoting norms that include morality, fairness, charity, and justice. However, that is not to say that religion has never resulted in negative outcomes either. Looking back at the past, we can see a long history of bloodshed, tribalistic animosity, insanity, corruption and exploitation of power and wealth, and other demonstrably harmful acts contributed by religion that still occur today. Ironically, religion can also both giveth and taketh.

Durkheim claims religion’s primary function is to promote cohesion and ideas that hold groups together. To strengthen and reaffirm these collective sentiments, members of a religion practice communal activities through rituals and associating themselves with symbols. This is also known as collective effervescence, “...an experience of strong collective sentiments and an original religious experience,” (Ono 1996: 88). Durkheim discovered that religion emerges through collective effervescence when he observed the Aboriginal populations in Australia, who have been practicing what may be the oldest and most primitive form of religion. Partaking in rituals strengthens the bonds amongst believers and their gods. For instance, Catholics would partake in holy communion services where believers will practice the same ceremony of eating and drinking the flesh and blood of Christ, but all for the same purpose to accept the body of Christ. Activities in which a group partakes in also symbolizes or holds a deeper meaning to the activity itself. “Religious practices allow members to collectively celebrate together as a society. In other words, society isn’t really worshipping God, but really they are worshipping themselves (Robertson 1970: 15)” (Edles and Appelrouth 2015: 145). Many religions also use certain actions that symbolize their deference to God. Catholics, for example, would make the sign of the cross before praying and Muslims would fast and face the holy city of Mecca before praying. Baptism is also a very common ritual in Christian religions where the baptism water symbolizes the belief of cleansing the soul. “These require the rationalising power of collective representations and social institutions (e.g., rituals) to channel such forces productively and democratically” (Pearce 2001: 98).

The Significance of Symbols and Totems in Religious Life

Durkheim explains that symbols are fundamentally divided into either sacred or profane, which are also known as the profane-sacred dichotomy, and is considered an essential characteristic of religion. He refers to the sacred as extraordinary things that are set apart from and “above and beyond” the everyday world for the worship of a deity or something that inspires awe or reverence. The property of being sacred is usually ascribed to objects and represents the interests in groups, especially unity. Profane, on the other hand, is the realm of the everyday world and mundane routines that humans follow daily, as well as common concerns for individuals, like wondering what food to eat for a meal or attending school on weekdays. Durkheim explicitly emphasizes that the sacred and profane are not to be misinterpreted as good or evil; the sacred and profane can be both good or evil. The distinction between the dichotomy of sacred and profane imposes an orderly system on the inherently unorganized way of living.

Symbols to represent what religious group an individual is a part of is represented usually through totems. Totems can be represented by objects or emblems of a group of people, like a family, clan, or tribe. Religions can be recognized by their emblems, such as the Star of David for Judaism or the Cross for Christianity, but totems can also be represented through other forms. Totems can be identified by an individual’s clothes and hairstyles, such as Buddhist monk robes and shaved heads or Islams with full-grown beards and head wraps. Totems can also be worn to openly show they belong to a certain religious group, such a monk beads or necklaces with emblems. According to Edles and Appelrouth, “the totem is a visible manifestation of a god. At the same time it helps a clan distinguish itself from each other,” (Appelrouth and Edles 2015: 152). Totems are significant in religious life, but they are not worshipped for what they are physically. The center of the religion is not based off of its face value, but the physical symbol that represents a totemic principle.

The Functions of Religion in Society

In addition to the other functions of religion, Durkheim noted eight other important functions of religion in society. First, religion is an institution that assists in resolving issues relating to relationships among individuals while helping them in adapting to their environment. This most likely has to do with most problems regarding relationships rooting from tribalistic tendencies, which can be resolved if individuals are placed into a like-minded group. Second, religion provides answers for the unknown and unknowable. Humans would naturally wonder what awaits after death, what celestial bodies are, and where humans originated from. We curiously and instinctively look for answers to such questions and require explanations for life’s mysteries. Religion helps humans reach conclusions to the unknown and fill in that void of curiosity and wonder. Third, religion promotes social order by defining boundaries between cultural items that are sacred and profane. Humans are able to separate their routinely profane behaviors in the ordinary realm, such as going to school on weekdays, with sacred ritualistic ones, such as going to church every Sunday morning. Being able to separate and discern what behaviors are appropriate within both realms help define what is and isn’t appropriate in all realms of society.

Fourth, religion promotes social control by making norms and values of established societies sacred to maintain the importance of prioritizing group goals over individual. This can help individuals become more selfless, but also exploited to the point where it is more detrimental to the individual than the benefits of the group. Fifth, religion provides emotional support and security for believers. Humans can fall into disarray once realizing that we have little to no control over the natural world. Believing that something or someone is always there to support us can help boost our morale and lessen the burdens of life knowing that life events, good or bad, are for the sake of a greater good or a “Grand Plan.” Emotional support doesn’t always have to come from something intangible like the religion’s deity; emotional support can always be supplied by something more concrete, like members within the group themselves.

Sixth, religion is a mechanism of social change. Religion serves as a “prophetic” function in which absolute standards take precedence over “earthly” ones. Because of this mechanism, a lot of unethical policies were practiced to justify wars, political revolutions, and social movements. When balanced with the third function of religion, boundary definition, it can serve as an effective way to preserve humanity. However, all of it was inevitable due to the human nature of greed and power while still occurring today. Seventh, religion is a source of identity. Just like ethnicity, religion provides individuals an understanding of who they are and where they belong. Lastly, religion is a source of socialization that directs a person’s life course. Religions practice rites, privileges, and responsibilities that correspond to life stages. This includes ceremonies for marriage, adulthood, and promotion to a higher position. An example of this is the Filipino culture, where a young woman celebrates her adulthood when she turns eighteen. In what is called a debut, eighteen roses are presented to symbolize her readiness in the area of romance. Eighteen men, including her father, dance with the debutant as a symbolization of love being both beautiful and “thorny.” Religion is relative to debuts mainly because it is associated with a woman’s life stages, the next stage being marriage and having a family of her own.

With more contemporary religious practices, some religions are individual-oriented and some are more aimed to benefit the society. For example, according to Max Weber, “religions grounded in an exemplary prophecy lead adherents away from work a day life by seeking salvation through extraordinary psychic states attained through mystical, orgiastic, or ecstatic experiences” (Edles and Appelrouth 2015: 193). This individualistic idea of self-preservation through salvation can be seen as the main motivation behind all the “altruistic” and “group-beneficial” actions taken by a believer. Examples of exemplary prophecies are Buddhism and Hinduism because they don’t necessarily focus on worshipping a god, but practice their teachings as a lifestyle. These religions promote finding enlightenment and separation from the desires of the world. Believers meditate to reach a psychic state that is deeply rooted within the people that practice the religion. “...Buddhists, strive for a state of lasting rest through self-denial and inner purification; in Hindu philosophy, the Supreme Being is the transcendental reality which is truth, knowledge and bliss,” (Nelson 2012: 57). Although Durkheim’s theoretical orientation focused mainly on society as a whole, one would argue that just because Hinduism and Buddhism focused more on the individual, both religions could tie in with what Durkheim had to say about his framework of religion. Society can adopt the practical teachings of Hinduism and Buddhism in order to create a more functional and successful society by instilling ideas of selflessness and growth that can still benefit both the group and individual. The followers of Buddhism come together to celebrate the teachings of Buddha and the students that have achieved enlightenment. However, Buddhism isn’t considered a religion because they do not worship a god. According to Durkheim, one of the functions of rituals is to strengthen the bonds attaching the believer to god. His ideas of the sacred and profane also does not line up with Buddhism and Hinduism. Durkheim explains that the sacred is practicing things that are holy and not considered profane, yet Buddhism practices the profane on a daily basis as a sacred form synonymously: To live a life of pacifism, becoming spiritually enlightened and losing all attachment to the desires of the real world. With Hinduism, there is no deity and that God is within the Hinduists, who must be reached through enlightenment by practicing yoga and doing good deeds in the physical realm in order to enjoy the next afterlife through reincarnation. Additionally, they are more consistent with the sacred than profane. It is very unlikely that a monk would go to a nightclub and indulge himself with liquor and sexual activity.

Max Weber mentions the emissary prophecy that “requires the devout to actively fashion the world according to the will of their god” (Edles and Appelrouth 2015: 194). Religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Isalam are religions that involve a form of “aesthetic work” according to Weber. The people who practice religion believe that they were put on this earth to become a tool to serve God. All of the monotheistic religions have their own stories, but revolve around a single, all-powerful God. Religions with Chistian-based faith use the Bible or Torah to inform its followers which events and activities to follow as an instruction guide for life. The Islamic version of the Bible is the Quran where their God is referred to as Allah. Another example of a more extreme religion is Calvinism, who’s followers help the boastful become humble and cooperating to benefit the society they live in. The founder, John Calvin, believed only a few chosen are predestined to enter the kingdom of heaven. This struck fear and curiosity into his followers because no one knew who was going to heaven, even after some believed that they were one of the few chosen. Calvin promoted diligent work and the idea to spend money on basic necessities like food, taxes and other forms of sustenance. Unfortunately, Calvinists cannot enjoy the fruits of their own labor. Calvinists believed that those who continue to live a life of pleasure and indulgence will remain enslaved to evil and casted off to hell, where not one man, be it a royal or holy, is excluded from this punishment.

There are definitive differences between religion and Durkheim’s framework. In the Elementary Forms of Religious Life, he defined social life as “inherently religious.” From his perspective, I agree that religion will always be part of human societies because of how it will always be a part of our recorded history. However, to say that a society cannot be conceived without religion is ridiculous to me. It is absolutely possible to have a functional society without religion, that is to say, once we sever the impractical aspects of religion out. Perhaps the conception a functional society without any recollection of religion is improbable, but a way to conceive a society without religion would be to take all the practices from religion that make a society functional and substitute the impractical beliefs of religion with practical ones. A society requires a body of people, a government, and laws; it has no need for deities nor rituals. Instead of doing sacred activities like going to church or temple once a week, why not go to a gym or mastering a skill that can have a direct impact on society and show observable results? If societies completely relied on religion to uphold social order, those societies would inevitably collapse once the inhabitants abandon religion. However, we see today that people can be without religion and still support the structural integrity of their society.

Religion's Role in Gender and Race Inequalities

Durkheim claims that religion’s main priority was to promote social unity, but failed to mention that it is also a force of division. By creating these groups that identify themselves as being part of something that other groups disagree with is sure to create a conflict of interests, especially when trying to claim that one religion reigns supreme over others. According to Social Conflict Theory, Carl Marx saw religion as an agent of social stratification. Religion served those already in power by legitimizing the state of social and political affairs, convincing believers that the existing inequalities are part of some divine plan. Many people already in power believed that they were given the divine right to rule and people just went along with it. Chinese emperors were once believed to have a mandate from heaven: that there may only be one true ruler of China at one time, which the Zhou used to overthrow other rulers, known as the Shang. The British monarchs today are formal heads of the Church of England, another example of people already in power staying in power. Christian religions support the belief of predestination, further empowering idea of divine right to rule. Marx saw religion as a barrier to revolutionary change and an “opiate of the masses” that hinders societal progress.

Religion also contributes to gender and race inequalities. When looking at divine figures depicted in art, most of them are male and revered as the wisest and most powerful. When we see Christianity’s belief in the creation of man, Adam was created in God’s image, whereas Eve was made from Adam’s ribs, which makes her seem lesser to Adam. Eve, a woman, is also depicted as the reason for the downfall of man when she succumbed to temptation. Religion is also used to control women’s behaviors because they are seen as the inferior gender. Women’s dress code is strictly enforced to cover most of their body, they are not allowed to speak unless spoken to, and not allowed to be alone with men outside family. Women are sometimes completely objectified as something that can bring two families together through non consensual marriage. Islamic women are strictly not allowed to pray inside mosques with the men and have their own secluded spot for prayer sessions. Religion also tries to justify racial inequality through the Bible; slavery was morally justified through the biblical texts. The bible also points out that the descendents of Cain are marked by God for killing his brother and interpreted the meaning of “marked” as having darker skin.

Religions similar to Christianity lines up the most with Durheim’s framework of religion because of its vast history and influence it had on society. The Ten Commandments that came from Christianity is adopted and implemented in almost every type of society. These laws are usually enforced by forces outside of divinity like a government policing the people. The Quran tells how a person should live their life, and as such, Muslims read the Quran to live meaningful lives and to please their god, Allah. Calvinism promoted hard work to its followers if they wanted to earn a spot in heaven, resulting in an economic boom, and therefore benefiting the society as a whole.

Conclusion

Most functions of religion line up with Durkheim’s framework of religion, however, some functions are no longer needed. Yes, religion dealt with the problems of the unknown and unknowable, but humanity has come a long way since the birth of religion and we are able to objectively able to explain the unknowns through scientific observations and advances in technology. Not everything has been explained, but to be content with a single belief like “God created it,” is preposterous and inhibits societal growth. Durkheim’s fourth function of religion is related to the dominance of group goals over individual goals. This is still very common practice, especially within churches. The prioritizing of the “group’s goal” usually refers to the church’s goals and how it would benefit those running the church. From a business perspective, churches are untaxed sources of income and are exploited everywhere. A lot of people today have their own individualistic views of the world and are cutting ties with religion, especially the younger generations. Identifying oneself with a religion is entirely dependent on their environment, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The fifth function is religion providing meaning in a world where humans have little or no control over certain phenomena.

For those that have little to no meaning in life, religion would be a good buffer before finding a more tangible reason for living. However, this is not a dependable, long-term way of living life nor should it be actively pursued over more realistic reasons to live. This type of thinking can lead to extremist and dangerous actions that can actively hurt themselves or those around them. The examples that come to mind are terrorism from religious motivations and false Rapture claims, which there have been many occurrances of, past and present. One example is ”the brutal destruction of the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon—two foremost symbols of the West—on September 11, 2001, which seemed to vindicate Samuel Huntington’s (1997) prediction of a “clash of civilizations”: terrorists who claim to act in the name of Allah are now fighting a war against the West. Islamist extremists who disdain Western freedoms have succeeded in constraining civil rights in many countries, including the United States” (Voigt 2005:59). The final function of religion is the directing of a person’s life, which can push the direction of one’s life to a more narrow one. In Islamic countries, Nikahs, or arranged marriages, exist and are filled with prayer to ask for guidance from Allah. The bride’s presence is not required; the family or anyone that wrote the arrangement will suffice. Traditions like this would make a huge impact on brides’ lives without any of their consent. Such constraints on an individual’s freedom is unnecessary in society and it can do without it.

References

1. Edles, Laura Desfor and Scott Appelrouth. 2015. Sociological Theory in the Classical Era: Edition 3. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.
2. Nelson, Robert H. 2012. 'Rethinking Church and State: The Case of Environmental Religion.” Pace Environmental Law Review 29(1): 57
3. Ono, Michikuni. 1996. “Collective Effervescence and Symbolism” Durkheimian Studies / Études Durkheimiennes 2(2): 88
4. Pearce, Frank. 2001. The Radical Durkheim, 2nd edn. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press International.
5. Pickering, R. B. 2011. Durkheim on religion: A selection of readings with bibliographies and introductory remarks. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co. Ltd.
6. Pickering, W. 1984. “In the beginning: Religion or society?” Pp. 262-274 in Durkheim's Sociology of Religion: Themes and Theories, edited by Cambridge: James Clarke & Co.
7. Pickering, W. 1984. “The functions of religion: A case of misunderstanding?” Pp. 300-317 in Durkheim's Sociology of Religion: Themes and Theories, edited by Cambridge: James Clarke & Co.
8. Voigt, Steven. 2005. “Islam and the Institutions of a Free Society” The Independent Review 10(1): 59