Defining the Sacred
Within Durkheim's framework, what basic feature distinguishes sacred things from all other things?
They're set apart and forbidden.
How does Durkheim describe profane life?
Ordinary and everyday activities.
According to Durkheim, what are rites?
Rules of conduct that govern how individuals act toward sacred things.
What is a totem in totemic religions?
A symbol, often an animal or plant, associated with a clan.
Name one modern example of a sacred symbol.
National flags/ courtrooms / graduation regalia
True or False: Sacred things are sacred because they possess supernatural power on their own.
False
To Durkheim, are profane things immoral or evil?
No, they're necessary but separate from the sacred.
Do rituals express personal belief or regulate collective behavior?
They regulate collective behavior.
Why do clan members treat the totem with reverence?
It represents the clan's collective identity.
Why are certain spaces, like courtrooms, treated differently from ordinary rooms?
Why can almost any object become sacred in Durkheim’s theory?
Because, as a society, we collectively assign sacredness, it's not created from the actual properties of the object.
Why must sacred and profane things remain separate according to Durkheim?
Contact between the sacred and the profane can weaken or destroy the sacred's authority.
Why are rituals repetitive rather than spontaneous?
Repetition reinforces shared meaning and collective discipline.
Why is harming the totem equivalent to harming the group?
The totem symbolizes the collective itself.
Why does violating sacred symbols provoke moral outrage?
It threatens collective identity and authority.
What fundamental division structures all religious thought?
Division of the world into the sacred and profane
What role do restrictions play in religious life?
They protect and isolate sacred things from profane things.
How do prohibitions function beyond individual belief?
They discipline behavior and enforce collective norms.
What is the "god" of the clan in totemism?
How do graduation ceremonies act like religious rituals in Durkheim’s framework?
They use ritual and symbolism to reinforce collective values and social transitions.
Why is Durkheim's definition of the sacred more toward sociology than theology?
Sacredness is a product of collective social recognition rather than a belief in a god or other supernatural figures.
Why does Durkheim argue that the sacred/profane distinction is structural and not spiritual?
The sacred/profane distinction organized social behavior and authority regardless of individual belief or religion.
How do rituals transform individual actions into expressions of collective authority?
How does totemism act as empirical evidence for Durkheim's theory that society is a source of sacred authority?
Shows how worship directed at sacred symbols is actually reverence for the social collective.
What do modern sacred symbols demonstrate about Durkheim's claim that society produces its own authority?