Nationalism and The Elementary Forms of Religious Life: debts and critiques

  • Jose Santiago Universidad Complutense de Madrid
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_POSO.2012.v49.n2.38413
Keywords: Durkheim, Nationalism, Nation, Sacred, Religion

Abstract

The Elementary Forms of Religious Life offers an important contribution to explore nationalism in the contemporary society. This article evaluates this legacy showing some critiques while acknowledging the debts of current theories of nationalism to Durkheims’ writing. First, I critique the durkheimian definition of patriotism during French Revolution as a religion. Secondly, I underline the limited perspective of Durkheim on the relationship between “religion of nation” and “religion of humanity” as a result of his “patriotism” and his analysis of totemism. Then I point out what I consider to be the best legacy of Durkheim to understand the nation and nationalism in the contemporary world. I deal with his interpretation of the secularization and his analysis on the relationship between sacred, community (national) and ritual. Finally, I emphasize his analysis of the sacred in te light of “modern critic” and his contribution to current theories of nationalism.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article download

Crossmark

Metrics

Published
2012-10-05
How to Cite
Santiago J. (2012). Nationalism and The Elementary Forms of Religious Life: debts and critiques. Política y Sociedad, 49(2), 293-311. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_POSO.2012.v49.n2.38413
Issue
Vol. 49 No. 2 (2012): Las formas elementales de la vida religiosa cien años después
Section
Monographic

License

In order to support the global exchange of knowledge, the journal Política y Sociedad is allowing unrestricted access to its content as from its publication in this electronic edition, and as such it is an open-access journal. The originals published in this journal are the property of the Complutense University of Madrid and any reproduction thereof in full or in part must cite the source. All content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 use and distribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This circumstance must be expressly stated in these terms where necessary. You can view the summary and the complete legal text of the licence.