Practice question · Multiple choice
Why did Durkheim conclude that totemic ritual is not really about the emblem animal at all?
Hints
- Ask where the felt force in the ritual actually comes from.
- The totem is a flag, said Durkheim, what does a flag stand for?
Show the answer
B. Society itself, experienced as a sacred force
Why
Durkheim’s move: the energy worshippers feel is real, it is the assembled group’s own force, projected onto the emblem. The totem is society’s flag; the sacred is the social, transfigured.
Practise Religion, Myth, and Ritual
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More questions on Religion, Myth, and Ritual
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