Orthopraxy and orthodoxy:
An Investigation into Durkheim’s Sociological Theories of Religion and how they relate to the Supernatural.
“By this [the supernatural] is understood all sorts of things which surpass the limits of our knowledge; the supernatural is the world of the mysterious, of the unknowable, of the un-understandable” This is the definition basis of this discussion and using this, the idea and belief of the supernatural can be explored using Durkheim’s theory. Emile Durkheim’s Functionalist view lead to the perspective of religious belief for society, however through this theory, an interpretation of the belief in the supernatural was able to come to fruition. His idea of profane and sacred represent the concept of the fears …show more content…
The separation of the profane and the sacred are the backbone of Durkheim’s religious observations and this idea can be translated to the supernatural as these instances are reflections of the fears contained within society. The sacred and the profane represent many things, but in Durkheim’s view, it is the separation of these objects that is commonly found in all religions. This essentialist view led to the social description of religion, in which Society is religion and vice versa. However, this idea of sacred and profane is mostly to do with the designations of religious belief and while god/s are said to have been the justifications for sacred objects, how do supernatural entities other than god/s become sacred and ritualised? In Durkheim’s view, the sacred are not created by god/s, but are created by the people. “Religious force is only the sentiment inspired by the group in its members, but projected outside of the …show more content…
His idea of profane and sacred represent the concept of the fears that society has placed in these supernatural ideologies, while the rituals that surround the supernatural are the actions that signify the warding away of fear or troubles, while also being a way to worship their dependence on religious ideologies; unfortunately, Durkheim had not embarked on this territory because earlier civilisations had no concept of the supernatural. Thus, Durkheim may not have specifically examined the supernatural, but through this discussion the mysterious nature of the supernatural will at least come to
An Investigation into Durkheim’s Sociological Theories of Religion and how they relate to the Supernatural.
“By this [the supernatural] is understood all sorts of things which surpass the limits of our knowledge; the supernatural is the world of the mysterious, of the unknowable, of the un-understandable” This is the definition basis of this discussion and using this, the idea and belief of the supernatural can be explored using Durkheim’s theory. Emile Durkheim’s Functionalist view lead to the perspective of religious belief for society, however through this theory, an interpretation of the belief in the supernatural was able to come to fruition. His idea of profane and sacred represent the concept of the fears …show more content…
The separation of the profane and the sacred are the backbone of Durkheim’s religious observations and this idea can be translated to the supernatural as these instances are reflections of the fears contained within society. The sacred and the profane represent many things, but in Durkheim’s view, it is the separation of these objects that is commonly found in all religions. This essentialist view led to the social description of religion, in which Society is religion and vice versa. However, this idea of sacred and profane is mostly to do with the designations of religious belief and while god/s are said to have been the justifications for sacred objects, how do supernatural entities other than god/s become sacred and ritualised? In Durkheim’s view, the sacred are not created by god/s, but are created by the people. “Religious force is only the sentiment inspired by the group in its members, but projected outside of the …show more content…
His idea of profane and sacred represent the concept of the fears that society has placed in these supernatural ideologies, while the rituals that surround the supernatural are the actions that signify the warding away of fear or troubles, while also being a way to worship their dependence on religious ideologies; unfortunately, Durkheim had not embarked on this territory because earlier civilisations had no concept of the supernatural. Thus, Durkheim may not have specifically examined the supernatural, but through this discussion the mysterious nature of the supernatural will at least come to