I’ve previously written on Durkheim’s take on the sacred versus the profane (click to read). Therein we explore Durkheim’s take on religion as a social institution and his views on life’s major delineations: the sacred and the profane. With that base in mind, we can go a level deeper and explore his views on totems and symbols.
Durkheim first argues that religions are fundamentally symbolic in nature as they represent collective ideas and social bonds. He defines totems, in turn, as a symbol of collective identity, shared order, and a given set of shared beliefs and values.
In their relationship, he thus asserts the totem as being above all a symbol, and totem being a kind of symbol.
For example, the American flag as a totem really represents the ideas, people, and shared values of the American people. The totem is sacred (can’t touch the ground, etc.) not because of any intrinsic quality of the flag, but because of the values, individuals, history, and collective identity that it represents.
Totems embody Durkheim’s idea of the sacred—something powerful, distinct from the profane, and worthy of reverence—as symbols that connect individuals to a larger community.
By worshipping symbols, individuals affirm the values, ideas, rules, and norms that hold the group together and form their collective identity.
In these ways Durkheim posits symbols as being central to both religion and society (society being a form of religion, in his eyes). He says that all religions are fundamentally symbolic, and that powerful symbols form quasi-“religions.”
So, I hope that answered your question! Check out my full Religion 101 article list (useful for studying, or just learning!) here.
