THE ELEMENTARY FORMS OF THE
RELIGIOUS LIFE
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY
JOSEPH WARD SWAIN
M.A.
LONDON
GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD
RUSKIN HOUSE MUSEUM STREET
FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1915
SECOND IMPRESSION 1926
THIRD IMPRESSION 1954
FOURTH IMPRESSION 1957
FIFTH IMPRESSION 1964
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of privatestudy, research, criticism or review, as permitted underthe Copyright Act, 1956, no portion may be reproducedby any process without written permission. Enquiryshould be made to the publisher.
© George Allen & Unwin Ltd. 1915
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN
BY HOLLEN STREET PRESS LTD
LONDON W.1
| INTRODUCTION | |
| Subject of our Study: Religious Sociology and the Theory ofKnowledge | PAGE |
| I.—Principal subject of the book: analysis of the simplest religion knownto determine the elementary forms of the religious life—Why they aremore easily found and explained in the primitive religions | 1 |
| II.—Secondary subject of research: the genesis of the fundamentalnotions of thought or the categories—Reasons for believing thattheir origin is religious and consequently social—How a way ofrestating the theory of knowledge is thus seen | 9 |
BOOK I PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS | |
| CHAPTER I Definition of Religious Phenomena and of Religion | |
| Usefulness of a preliminary definition of religion; method to be followedin seeking this definition—Why the usual definitions should beexamined first | 23 |
| I.—Religion defined by the supernatural and mysterious—Criticism: thenotion of mystery is not primitive | 24 |
| II.—Religion defined in connection with the idea of God or a spiritual being.—Religionswithout gods—Rites in deistic religions which imply noidea of divinity | 29 |
| III.—Search for a positive definition—Distinction between beliefs andrites—Definition of beliefs—First characteristic: division of thingsbetween sacred and profane—Distinctive characteristics of thisdefinition—Definition of rites in relation to beliefs—Definition ofreligion | ... BU KİTABI OKUMAK İÇİN ÜYE OLUN VEYA GİRİŞ YAPIN!Sitemize Üyelik ÜCRETSİZDİR! |