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 shows how Durkheim's position developed and explains the themes and theories that run through Durkheim's work. This includes Durkheim's attitude towards secularisation and Christian churches, as well as his notion of the contemporary cult of the individual.
- ISBN10 9780227172
- ISBN13 9789780227173
- Publish Date 1 September 2009 (first published May 1984)
- Publish Status Active
- Imprint James Clarke Company
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 577
- Language English