Durkheim, Emile

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Durkheim, Emile (1858–1917). Only rivalled by Max Weber as the father of social science. He founded the Année Sociologique, a group which made major contributions to the study of religion, ‘représentations collectives’ (collective representations), modes of thought, and forms of classification. Jewish by birth, Durkheim adopted a positivistic attitude towards religion. His classic The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (1912; tr. 1915) utilized Australian aboriginal material to attempt to show that religious life originates as a response to experiences of society. It is now generally taken for granted that comprehensive understanding of religions involves a social perspective. See also SACRED AND PROFANE (including his definition of religion).

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