The Cartesian Other was also used by Sigmund Freud, who saw the superego as an abstract regulatory force, and Émile Durkheim who viewed this as a psychologically manifested entity which represented God in society at large.

Regarding the society itself, like social institutions in general, Durkheim saw it as a set of social facts.

Durkheim saw the population density and growth as key factors in the evolution of the societies and advent of modernity.

Durkheim saw religion as the most fundamental social institution of humankind, and one that gave rise to other social forms.

Durkheim saw the religion as a force that emerged in the early hunter and gatherer societies, as the emotions collective effervescence run high in the growing groups, forcing them to act in a new ways, and giving them a sense of some hidden force driving them.

Durkheim ( 1858 – 1917 ) saw society as a functioning organism.

Durkheim saw crime as " a factor in public health, an integral part of all healthy societies.

In contradistinction to both Herbert Spencer and Edward Burnett Tylor, who defended theories of animistic origins of ancestor worship, Émile Durkheim saw its origin in totemism.

Lévi-Strauss took many of his ideas from structural linguistics ( Ferdinand de Saussure -- who saw in the structure of language a series of oppositions or opposites — and Roman Jakobson ) as well as from Émile Durkheim and particularly Marcel Mauss.

In his work, Durkheim focused on totemism, the religion of the aboriginal Australians and Native Americans.

Here, Durkheim outlines how totemism within an Australian aboriginal religion is an example of how collective representations are enacted through religion.

The founder of a French school of sociology, Émile Durkheim, examined totemism from a sociological and theological point of view.

Durkheim hoped to discover a pure religion in very ancient forms and generally claimed to see the origin of religion in totemism.

In further contributions, Goldenweiser in 1915 – 16 and 1918 criticized Lang, Frazer, and Durkheim and insisted that totemism had nothing to do with religion ; he held instead that man in no way viewed his totem as superior to himself or as a deified being but viewed it as his friend and equal.

Émile Durkheim derives exogamy from totemism, and says it arose from a religious respect for the blood of a totemic clan, for the clan totem is a god and is especially in the blood.

After the death of Reclus as well as the main proponents of Le Play's ideas, and with Émile Durkheim turning away from his early concept of social morphology, Paul Vidal de la Blache, who noted that geography " is a science of places and not a science of men ", remained the most influential figure of French geography.

Durkheim authored some of the most programmatic statements on what sociology is and how it should be practiced.

Even the most " individualistic " or " subjective " phenomena, such as love, freedom or suicide, would be regarded by Durkheim as objective social facts.

As the society, Durkheim noted there are several possible pathologies that could lead to a breakdown of social integration and disintegration of the society: the two most important ones are anomie and forced division of labor ; lesser ones include the lack of coordination and suicide.

First, Durkheim took most of his data from earlier researchers, notably Adolph Wagner and Henry Morselli, who were much more careful in generalizing from their own data.

It is religion, Durkheim writes, that gave rise to most if not all other social constructs, including the larger society.

The most devastating critique came from Durkheim ’ s contemporary, Arnold van Gennep, an expert on religion and ritual, and also on Australian belief systems.

The debate of community versus modernization of society and individualism has been the most discussed topic among the fathers of sociology ( Tönnies, 1887 ; Durkheim, 1893 ; Simmel, 1905 ; Weber, 1946 ).

In fact, while Durkheim is widely considered the most important functionalist among positivist theorists, it is well known that much of his analysis was culled from reading Spencer's work, especially his Principles of Sociology ( 1874-96 ).

To Durkheim, the most important factor in social progress is the division of labour.

To Durkheim, the most important factor in the social progress is the division of labor.

In 1905, Granet joined a socialist study group whose membership included Durkheimian sociologist, anthropologist, major contributor to the Année and nephew of Durkheim himself, Marcel Mauss, along with future ancient Greek specialist and editor of the Année Louis Gernet, and future Durkheimian sociologist, philosopher and contributor to the Année, Maurice Halbwachs.

The beliefs of a religion also reflecting the values are expressed in creeds, dogmas, and doctrines, and form what Durkheim calls a credo.

Durkheim noted long ago that religion as `` a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things unites into one single moral community all those who adhere to them ''.

The word religion is sometimes used interchangeably with faith or belief system ; however, in the words of Émile Durkheim, religion differs from private belief in that it is " something eminently social ".

The sociologist Durkheim, in his seminal book The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, defined religion as a " unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things ".

Classical, seminal sociological theorists of the late 19th and early 20th century such as Durkheim, Weber, and Marx were greatly interested in religion and its effects on society.

Durkheim, Marx, and Weber had very complex and developed theories about the nature and effects of religion.

Durkheim defined religion as a clear distinction between the sacred and the profane, in effect this can be paralleled with the distinction between God and humans.

In The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, Durkheim ’ s first purpose was to identify the social origin and function of religion as he felt that religion was a source of camaraderie and solidarity.

Durkheim defined religion as

Out of those three concepts, Durkheim focused on the sacred, noting that it is at the very core of a religion.

However, Durkheim also believed that religion was becoming less important, as it was being gradually superseded by science and the cult of an individual.

However, even if the religion was losing its importance for Durkheim, it still laid the foundation of modern society and the interactions that governed it.

And despite the advent of alternative forces, Durkheim argued that no replacement for the force of religion had yet been created ,.

Durkheim also argued that our primary categories for understanding the world have their origins in religion.

Durkheim ’ s work on religion was heavily criticized on both empirical and theoretical grounds by specialists in the field.