In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912), Emile Durkheim sets himself the task of discovering the enduring source of human social identity. He investigates what he considered to be the simplest form of documented religion - totemism among the Aborigines of Australia. For Durkheim, studying Aboriginal religion was a way 'to yield an u...more

There would be no need for sociology if everyone understood the social frameworks within which we operate. That we do have a connection to the larger picture is largely thanks to the pioneering thinker mile Durkheim. He recognized that, if anything can explain how we as individuals relate to society, then it is suicide: Why does it happen? What goe...more

This is the only collection of Durkheim's writings to draw upon the whole body of his work. Many of the texts in the book are here translated for the first time. Dr Giddens takes his selections from a wide variety of sources and includes a number of items from untranslated writings in the Revue Philosophique, Annee Sociologique and from L'evolution...more

This volume brings together a comprehensive selection of Emile Durkheim's writings on religion. Besides helping to establish the discipline of sociology in France, Durkheim is widely recognized as one of the founding figures in the modern study of religion. Included are important sections of The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912), some of Du...more