Ndurkheim's concepts of sacred and profane books

The paired up terms of sacred and profane constitute a twin con cept we are. French sociologist emile durkheim 18581917, considered by many as the father of social science and whose group an. Im no expert in anthropology, but i couldnt help noticing how some ideas were corroborated mostly by middle. Lets take a look at these two concepts with more detail.

This book focuses on the macro social theory of marx. The sociological concepts of the sacred and the profane have their main roots in the theories of emile durkheim. For durkheim, religion is the collective practice of marking off and maintaining distance between the sacred and the profane, whichis typicallydone through rituals,such as those associated with the daily or weekly visit to the church or mosque. Sacred and profane the concepts of sacred and profane are central to durkheims theory of religion. It was during the first quarter of the 20th century that the concept of the sacred. The profane, on the other hand, is everything else, all those mundane things like our jobs, our bills, and our rush hour commute. Durkheim starts forms by looking at how religion may be defined and here the sacred profane dichotomy comes immediately into play. The source of modern religion was one of the most important questions for durkheim. The concept of sacred and profane defines durkheim s study of religion. The sacredprofane dichotomy is an idea posited by french sociologist emile durkheim, who. The profane, on the other hand, involved mundane individual concerns. My new copy of this book is just what i was hoping for.

People in contemporary society do not usually encounter the sacred and the evil profane by taking themselves off to a remote location to perform some kind of arcane ritual. This video presentation is from macro social theory, by frank w. In fact, the two are opposed so fundamentally that they are seen as separate worlds. Likewise, certain images of god and sacred books are held to be uniquely. Durkheim says that the sacred is ideal and transcends everyday existence, it is extraordinary, potentially dangerous,aweinspiring,fear inducing. Durkheim extensively studied the functions of religion and was among the first to distinguish between the sacred and the profane. The sacred refers to those collective representations that are set apart from society, or that which transcends the humdrum of everyday life. Unlike ottos holy, durkheims sacred was literally unthinkable except in terms of the profane. Sage books the ultimate social sciences digital library. In the classic text the sacred and the profane, famed historian of religion mircea eliade observes that even. Moreover, it is the nature of the concept of sacred, the inexplicable and authoritative aura that guided and maintains the system of belief in a primitive society. The sacred and the profane serves as an excellent introduction to the history of religion, but its perspective also encompasses philosophical anthropology, phenomenology, and psychology.