Considered sociologically, religion is a social institution built around a 'unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden,' in Émile Durkheim's canonical definition. Durkheim argued religion's essential function is not theological but social: it expresses and reinforces the cohesion of the group itself, uniting believers into a moral community, insisting 'there is no society that does not have religion.' Functionalist sociology built on this claim, holding that religious belief systems encourage social order and stability in ways rational knowledge cannot. Durkheim developed the theory through a study of what he took to be the most elementary religious form, Australian Aboriginal totemism, arguing that the sacred totem a clan worshipped was, at bottom, a symbol of the society itself.
Facts
Institution TypeSourced to the subject's own accountCultural/normative institution (social-cohesion institution, in Durkheim's functionalist framing) 1 Emergence PeriodSourced to the subject's own accountNot precisely datable as an emergence; Durkheim held religion to be effectively coextensive with organized society, studying Australian Aboriginal totemism as its most ancient surviving documented form and publishing his theory in The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (1912). 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Informed By
Durkheim's functionalist account treats religion's essential role as social cohesion, uniting believers into a moral community.
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