Durkheim's Sociology of Religion: Themes and Theories

by W.S.F. Pickering

Religion is central to Durkheim's theory of society, and his work laid most of the foundations of the sociology of religion.Daring and brilliant though his analysis was, its bold claims and questionable premises has made it the subject of ongoing academic debate. Durkheim's work on the subject reached a peak with the publication in 1912 of what turned out to be a classic in its field, 'The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life'. No other book has explained Durkheim's views on religion using the whole corpus of his writings. Dr Pickering show how Durkheim's position developed and explains the themes and theories that run through his work. This includes Durkheim's attitude towards secular isation and Christian churches, as well as his notion of the contemporary cult of the individual. W.S.F. Pickering has written and edited a number of books on Durkheim and his followers, as well as many articles. At present he is the General Secretary of the British Centre for Durkheimian Studies, which he helped to found in 1991. It is based in the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Oxford University. 'Although the author excuses himself for not having covered certain aspects of the subject, this book of great erudition is the summation of all that one can know - or almost know - of Durkheim's sociology of religion.' - F.-A. Isambert, 'Archives de Sciences Sociales des Religions' 'Fair, circumspect, clear and exceptionally readable.' - Anthony J. Blasi, 'Sociological Analysis' 'An excellent guide to Durkheim's priorities.' - John Griffiths, 'The Tablet'

Genres: Religion

577 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[aa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very boring read. That said, it probably wasn't meant to be read cover-to-cover by a non-academic "layman" .

Its useful in explaining how Durkheim's ideas about religion have been influential or criticized in the past century.