Sociology 2259 Lecture Notes - Collective Effervescence, Religious Ecstasy, Commodity Fetishism
16 Nov 2012
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Document Summary
Some religious belief constitutes the basis of any society. Always consists of: sacred vs. profane, totemism. Not that every religion is rooted in christianity (thank god) It"s a way of separating the holy from the every day world: the placement and position of the sacred, the principles for how collective activity accesses the sacred. Religion allows individuals to transcend their individuality and to connect to a group perspective: becomes communal, it"s similar to playing a sport or joining a club where you lose your sense of individuality. The fundamental distinction in religious activity is between keeping what is sacred away from what is profane: sacred is formed from the collective, profane is constituted by individuals. As a collective we end up worshipping a symbol of something sacred not what is actually sacred: therefore religion is worshipping the society of itself, very self-justifying if i do say so myself.
