Compare and contrast Max Weber\'s perspective on religion to that of Emil Durkhe

Question

Compare and contrast Max Weber's perspective on religion to that of Emil Durkheim. Both theorists are leading figures in the discipline of Sociology, yet their approach to the study of religion differs. Write an essay that is sensitive to both similarities and dissimilarities in their thought in regard to religion. The essay needs an introductory paragraph that introduces your thesis statement (that is ideas/concepts of the two theorists that will be addressed) and a concluding paragraph that summarizes your argument in the paper. Your paper is to be two pages (or more), double-spaced with 1 inch margins. Utilize the checklist to make sure your paper meets all the criteria that are required. This checklist was given to you at the beginning of the semester and is available on Blackboard. NOTE: There is no need for a separate title page. Your name should appear at the top right hand corner of your first page. Your paper should have a title ("Response Paper # 2” is not an appropriate title!). No other information is necessary (there is no need for course number, name of instructor or your student ID number). This format applies to all the rest of the response papers you submit during this semester.

Explanation / Answer

A comparison of the views of Max Weber and Emil Durkheim in the area of religion and its role in shaping social behaviour and history shows that the two thinkers have a different method, language, and resulting theory. Weber being the Protestant Christian and Durkheim the agnostic.Weber’s focus was on the individual and their relationship with their god, Durkheim focusing on the effects of religion as a group activity. Weber focused on the economic effects, Durkheim, the moral. For Durkheim religion involves a more mechanical social participation, but for Weber the motive of the individual with regard to religious activity was key. Weber argued that it was rewards in the afterlife that drove religious behaviour but for Durkheim religion was a “real world” thing, the upholder of social solidarity. Weber did not question the existence of God or the validity of the mythology and dogma. Durkheim on the other hand believed that the gods of religion, in fact all religious imagery, were the creation of society, for the purpose of holding itself together through with moral regulation. Both Weber and Durkheim pursued the study of religion as a scientific study. Durkheim’s “science” focused on the moral effects of religion on real life social behaviour, and extended this to the philosophical and even psychological realm as he studied group religious behaviour but it is clear the Weber focused on the effects of religion on the economics aspects of life and the historical development of economic systems. A major difference between Weber and Durkheim in the area of religion relates to their individualistic versus holistic theories, respectively. Weber’s ideas were centered on the personal willful action of each individual in response to the religious beliefs of the society in which that individual participated and was dependent on. For Durkheim, social solidarity was the basis of his sociological study of religion. Durkheim supposed that the purpose of religion is not to make us think about the nature of this world or the “other world” but it is rather to tell us how to act and how to live in society, in the real world. In contrast to Durkheim’s concepts of religion as society’s way of creating order through moral regulation, Weber, on the other hand, saw that the religious experience was a highly individual one and argued that men drew subjective meaning to life through personal religious experience. As a similarity, both Weber and Durkheim were aware of the role of religion in forming “ideal types” for people to aspire and live up to. Durkheim focuses on the moral and social implications, whereas Weber saw religion through the development of economic systems. Moral regulation and social solidarity versus the moral obligation of hard work and productivity through the accumulation of wealth. The power of the group religious experience versus the individual and his God. “God as society” versus “God and the afterlife”. Rather than seeing only the opposing views of Durkheim and Weber in the area of religion perhaps it is possible to see the unity of these two worldviews. They both have clear elements of truth and including all the ideas presented above could enhance any true sociological understanding.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse C
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.