Religion and belief have an important role to play in many societies for the individual and for the society as a whole. All religions preach tolerance and respect for the inherent humanity of all persons. According to Emile Durkheim (1995), he believed that the role of religion is to socialize society’s member into value consciousness by offering the shared set of values and encouraging collectivity worship. Religions can be sum as maintaining social solidarity. This report will look at Emile Durkheim’s critique of the four elements of religion and belief system, including the notions of sacred and profane. A movie entitled “The Village” directed by M. Night Shyamalan will be used as the example to discuss Durkheim’s work and as a study case.
In his work, Durkheim (1995) purpose was to explain and described the most primitive religion known to man. Durkheim (1995) stated in order to explain the most primitive religion, we must first define the term religion itself. Religion cannot be defined except by the characteristics which are found wherever religion itself is found. Durkheim (1995), considers religion as a system of ideas and practices which differ in culture, ethnicity or politic aspect. However, this is why I think that in the movie of “The Village”, assuming on Durkheim’s idea, the people practicing a primitive religion and belief, but I disagree with that because not all religion is false or primitive but only to the way ones sees it as primitive. The village people have their own custom because they fulfil the same needs and play the same role in their society. Durkheim (1995), stated that religion is meant to fulfil the ultimate end of human life, which is society itself; where it functions for one reason which is to produce and maintain social solidarity. With the system that consists of different aspect, there are four elements in defining one's religion and belief system which are supernatural, divinity, belief and rites and magic and religion according to Durkheim (1995).
Based on “The Village” movie, the elder had taken the old legend and made it their own. The legend was that there was a dangerous creature in the wood which it stays in the wood and the villagers will stay in the village. In his work of The Elementary Forms of The Religious Life, Durkheim (1995) established the fact that religion was not divinely or supernaturally inspired and was in fact the product of the society. This makes the belief in the village was the product of the elders’ belief of supernatural forces in the woods. Durkheim (1995), then sought to identify the common things that religion placed an emphasis upon, as well as what effects those religious beliefs which is the product of social life, had on the lives of all within a society,
“If religion has given birth to all that is essential in society, it is because the idea of society is the soul of religion. (Bellah, 1973 in Durkheim, 1995: 191).
According to Firth (1996), his interpretation of religion and belief is something that was born from the idea and the spirit of a person through actions and activities undertaken by the community around them since they are born. However, Durkheim (1995), noted that there is a symbol of exceptional or unforeseen man who embodies the belief or religion itself in a practice that belief if based on “The Village” movie. There is a lot of effect that leads to trust and it involves a diversity of economic, political and environmental. Durkheim (1995), however, has a different view about religious belief and Firth (1996) did not take the occult symbols that bring power to the teachings of the symbol.
Based on “The Village” movie, the elder had taken the old legend and made it their own. The legend was that there was a dangerous creature in the wood which it stays in the wood and the villagers will stay in the village. In his work of The Elementary Forms of The Religious Life, Durkheim (1995) established the fact that religion was not divinely or supernaturally inspired and was in fact the product of the society. This makes the belief in the village was the product of the elders’ belief of supernatural forces in the woods. Durkheim (1995), then sought to identify the common things that religion placed an emphasis upon, as well as what effects those religious beliefs which is the product of social life, had on the lives of all within a society,
“If religion has given birth to all that is essential in society, it is because the idea of society is the soul of religion. (Bellah, 1973 in Durkheim, 1995: 191).
According to Firth (1996), his interpretation of religion and belief is something that was born from the idea and the spirit of a person through actions and activities undertaken by the community around them since they are born. However, Durkheim (1995), noted that there is a symbol of exceptional or unforeseen man who embodies the belief or religion itself in a practice that belief if based on “The Village” movie. There is a lot of effect that leads to trust and it involves a diversity of economic, political and environmental. Durkheim (1995), however, has a different view about religious belief and Firth (1996) did not take the occult symbols that bring power to the teachings of the symbol.
The element of supernatural is somehow the people being governed by those “things” which surpass the limits of our knowledge of being called the mysterious being. Supernatural is a belief in the omnipresence of something which is difficult to be understand or believe. According to Weber (1991), the qualitative superiority of humanized gods and demons over human is it first only relative, but their passions and desire for pleasure are believed to be unlimited but they are neither omniscient nor omnipotent which not necessarily eternal. Hence, the villagers were actually believed that there were dangerous creatures in the wood and believe the village can protect them from the creatures even though the village was surrounded by the woods. For the believer, there was nothing strange or queer about the ideas, behaviour or gesture towards the supernatural, which they do not see it as mysterious at all. Just for the anthropologist and the outside people they tend to assume that some of the ritual or behaviour made by a certain community regards as practicing a supernatural belief. Even Durkheim (1995) himself stated that he considers something that has to do with the supernatural is quite surprising, strange, shocking, puzzling and interesting because the “mysteriousness part was added in a belief system”. Probably because they are the outsiders.
“When we see them attribute extraordinary virtues to insignificant objects. We are undoubtedly prone to find an air of mystery in these conceptions” (Durkheim, 1995: 40).
Supernatural is not certainly implies to the “unforeseen” forces which it could be in the natural order like how the mountain could be so high, the rise of eclipse sun and the ocean tides. Like in the movie, the villagers see that the colour red is the colour of evil. Based on the studied by Jevon (1936, in Durkheim 1995), he believed that this is the birth of the supernatural and religious thought and then provided an explanation for these extraordinary causes. I think that, all of the ideas we look at supernatural were not enough to actually define it as to witness the unexpected event. I agreed with Durkheim saying that the “new” (events) or “novelty” becomes part of nature, a part of experience” (Durkheim, 1995).
In supernatural, the religion and physical force are perceived by those performing the rite supernatural event or entity is presumably a dramatic exception. Durkheim (1995), stated his opinion of the religious coincides with that of the extraordinary or the unforeseen. I can assume that in Durkheim (1995) perspective, he was trying to say that religion it is a collective belief and ritual of a group relating to the supernatural. The supernatural can be stated as the above nature which is beyond or added to nature also often considered because it is given by God or some force which humans are born with.
Like I mentioned earlier, the villagers perceived the belief, neither based on divinity nor superstitious, but based on the legend that the elders made. The elders do not allow people to leave the village because they wanted to leave the modern civilization to escape violence. They do not want their children to know about the real world, fearing they will want to go there and might never return. That is why they invented a story about the creatures in the woods to frighten them from leaving the village. I can assume that it is not necessarily imply symbols and rite, or a religious institution like a mosque or church. This whole exterior apparatus is only the superficial around essentially like a body collective belief and practices is funded by certain authorities. In the movie, I saw that religion provides a meaning for life which it provided authority figured and for Durkheim (1995) it reinforced the morals and social norms that held collectively by all within a society. Durkheim (1995) then said that religion also provides social control, cohesion and purpose for people, as well as another means of communication and gathering for individuals to interact and reaffirm social norms. In this movie, I cannot see any particular main religion like Christianity, Judaism or Jewish as the villagers do not consume any religious or worshipping place around the village, but only a place like a hall to discuss about the dangers of going outside the village by the elders to the youngster. This hall can be considered a “church” or a religious institution for them as it is a gathering place to teach what is right and wrong to do in the village.
“When we see them attribute extraordinary virtues to insignificant objects. We are undoubtedly prone to find an air of mystery in these conceptions” (Durkheim, 1995: 40).
Supernatural is not certainly implies to the “unforeseen” forces which it could be in the natural order like how the mountain could be so high, the rise of eclipse sun and the ocean tides. Like in the movie, the villagers see that the colour red is the colour of evil. Based on the studied by Jevon (1936, in Durkheim 1995), he believed that this is the birth of the supernatural and religious thought and then provided an explanation for these extraordinary causes. I think that, all of the ideas we look at supernatural were not enough to actually define it as to witness the unexpected event. I agreed with Durkheim saying that the “new” (events) or “novelty” becomes part of nature, a part of experience” (Durkheim, 1995).
In supernatural, the religion and physical force are perceived by those performing the rite supernatural event or entity is presumably a dramatic exception. Durkheim (1995), stated his opinion of the religious coincides with that of the extraordinary or the unforeseen. I can assume that in Durkheim (1995) perspective, he was trying to say that religion it is a collective belief and ritual of a group relating to the supernatural. The supernatural can be stated as the above nature which is beyond or added to nature also often considered because it is given by God or some force which humans are born with.
Like I mentioned earlier, the villagers perceived the belief, neither based on divinity nor superstitious, but based on the legend that the elders made. The elders do not allow people to leave the village because they wanted to leave the modern civilization to escape violence. They do not want their children to know about the real world, fearing they will want to go there and might never return. That is why they invented a story about the creatures in the woods to frighten them from leaving the village. I can assume that it is not necessarily imply symbols and rite, or a religious institution like a mosque or church. This whole exterior apparatus is only the superficial around essentially like a body collective belief and practices is funded by certain authorities. In the movie, I saw that religion provides a meaning for life which it provided authority figured and for Durkheim (1995) it reinforced the morals and social norms that held collectively by all within a society. Durkheim (1995) then said that religion also provides social control, cohesion and purpose for people, as well as another means of communication and gathering for individuals to interact and reaffirm social norms. In this movie, I cannot see any particular main religion like Christianity, Judaism or Jewish as the villagers do not consume any religious or worshipping place around the village, but only a place like a hall to discuss about the dangers of going outside the village by the elders to the youngster. This hall can be considered a “church” or a religious institution for them as it is a gathering place to teach what is right and wrong to do in the village.
Apart from supernatural, the second element is divinity. Divinity is the idea of god or the spiritual beings. Durkheim (1995), observed that it determine by the nature attributed to them which they are conscious being and we can act upon them only through a conscious process like praying, offering or sacrifices. This godly spiritual being is the object of religion where it has governed the believer’s relations with them, including the conscious processes is at work. Moreover, the souls of dead or the ancestor or any spirit cannot eventually become a god but plays an important role in the life of the believer and their environment. Tylor (1903), suggested that the term ‘god’ should be substituted with ‘spiritual being’ especially in “the religion of lower races” (p.424). I argued that, it cannot be a spiritual being; spiritual being could be a ghost or ghoul in a sense to define the “spiritual being”. Later, Durkheim (1995) explains that “spiritual beings must be understood to mean conscious subjects with capacities superior to those of ordinary men; this qualification includes the souls of the dead, genies, and demons, as well as divinities strictly speaking” (p. 31). Like in “The Village” movie, I think that it can be explained that the Tylor suggestion of using the term god should be replaced with spiritual beings, as the “creature” in the wood, was seen as a superior being in the eyes of the villagers. Actually, the older were pretending to be the creatures in the wood in order to frighten younger members to keep them from leaving the village. Once a member of the village broke the promised, which he/she went into the woods, the village will be attacked by the creatures which they leaves slashes that were found on the doors of each house and the villagers will think it as a warning. Naturally, the useful powers are usually considered the good and of gods, who are to be worshipped, while the harmful powers are lowered to demons or dangerous creature which frequently endowed with incredible guile or limitless spite, who are not to be worshipped but magically coerced (Weber, 1991). Later, sacrifice was made where they skinned carcass of a small farm animal was thrown into the woods as a peace offering. This sacrifice can be set as a ritual in a way the villagers believe that the creature will not disturb them when the offering was made. Weber (1991), stated that the divination grows out of the magic based on the belief in spirit, who function in accordance with certain rules, as do living creatures. Once knowing how the spirit operates, one can predict their behaviour from symptoms or omen that make it possible to surmise their intentions, on the basis of rules of experience. Therefore, in the village the mystical beings which the belief of the creature in the woods is consciously being where they regulated their relationship with them. It represents throughout, offering or sacrifice to please the mystical being.
Durkheim (1995), determines that we should not emanate from divine personalities and there are relations of cult which have other objects when uniting man to a deity. Religion is more that the idea of gods or spirits and consequently cannot be defined exclusively in the relation to these latter. I want to argue that in this village movie, I see that the spiritual being is something that able to see which it does not consist of soul or “spirit” but a mystical creature like a folk tale or fairy tale. This overlapping definition of spiritual being and divinity actually makes me notice that a god must have power, thus we can see that this creature has its power in the idea that the villagers should respect and having some kind of offering to this creature. Its overlap because I assume anything that consume power has this godlike and divinity characteristic. Actually, the rites, play more important role in producing the divine effect in religion, as it is served to praise the god or spiritual being. Durkheim (1995), suggest that not all religious qualities come from divine personalities like gods, spirit as religion can be defined beyond the idea of gods or spirits. There are rites which are which does not associate with any god. It can be considered the material aspects during ceremonies used to produce the desired effect or efficacy.
I believe that the significance of the ritual in the village community is to stop from getting bad spirit, with good omen been practiced as to keep the village in peace. According to Durkheim (1995), the reference, object, of rituals is the belief system of the realms of the sacred and the profane. He also attempts to understand the effects of religion on social solidarity in primitive society. This is an opportunity to see how religion functions to bind individuals to groups, regulate their behaviour, and connect them to the symbolic order and social structure. The function of ritual depends upon its reference. Positive rituals are concerned with consecrating or renewing an object or individual and avoidance in term of negative ritual like the taboo for example, can be classified as ritual where it applied to those rituals that concern something to be avoided and forbidden. Sacrificial, can be seen in the assessment of sacrificial ritual as the elementary form of religion. According to Henri and Mauss (1964), sacrifices to the gods (or any spiritual being) representing the community as it yield diverse personal and societal gains. This does not mean that sacrifice does not have any element of offering, but this ritual actually to gain benefit when particular ritual objects are included in the study of ritual. Freud (2004), locates religion in a succession of historical systems of thought between the primitive, animistic world view and the scientific one. I can consider that the villagers in the movie belief in a supernatural power that organizes and animates the material of the universe in the village because based on the passed belief of the creature in the woods. Apart from that, in the movie, certain colours can be considered sacred and profane. The villagers use red and yellow to show symbolic meaning. Red is seen dangerous colour and yellow is seen as a safe colour. The village afraid of the red colour because it has association with the creature which they wears red robes and leave a red mark at the villager’s house door when attacking them. While, yellow symbolize safety where, in the movie most of the people where yellow robes and there were yellow flags being placed surrounds the village. According to Weber (1991), religious ethic do not really begin with the context of personal power, but there was already another and highly effectual context of religious ethics, that is purely magically motivated norms of conduct, the violation of which was regarded as a religious abomination. (Like this spirits are variable and often the product of accident). Consequently, one must avoid irritating the spirit to not to harm oneself who possessed by it. Red is seen as something that is profane (evil) as they get rid any red colour including flowers or fruits which actually might be part of the ritual of getting rid of something that will affect the society as a whole. Durkheim (1995) also stated that, ritual is the organization of behaviour directed toward the sacred which serves to emphasize the cult identity and energize its normative structure and reinforces collective identity through affinity to the sacred. Moreover, an individual who performs a religious ritual or practice does not only done for spiritual reasons, but also to express their identification with the religion and its adherents as a whole. Thus, I strongly believe that ritual does have the element of religious which can be seen as a performance of ceremonial acts that prescribed by the village that takes on sacrifice when they know that the creature in the woods is angry at them.
The mystery is always linked to passion, enthusiasm and all the fear emotions, in shorts to life’s deepest troubled and greatest impulses. “The Village” movie actually tells us to explore the value of community. This movie has created an imagined community that has base for fear. The thing that the villagers afraid was the colour red and scared to “Those We Don’t Speak Of” which what they call the creatures in the woods. Durkheim (1995) emphasis that there is an unusual symbol in the The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. He emphasizes the role of religion in influencing and strengthening the social integration in which values and norms in society by rewarding good behaviour is allowed and bring people together to participate in a religious ritual that can strengthen unity among the people who practice the faith. However, according to Freud (1962), he likely said that it is a man’s need where he sees a tension between civilization and individual with the purpose of religion. I think in Freud work, he wanted to emphasize that the authority that wanted civilization demand for conformity where the individual seek for protection and freedom from them, which later the authority use religion as to control the whole society to be civilized. In the movie, I see that a belief was made to actually for the others own benefits which both has its pros and cons like Freud had stated. The “religion” or “belief system” in the movie is actually distinguished the feeling of danger with the fear based culture which divides the world into the village and the outsiders. It has its spiritual values which the community focus on the energies and the evil ones out there that usually proves defenceless against the dark forces within its own walls. Which later feeling of fear can be associated with supernatural associate sacred and profane which “the village” afraid to do something that has been told and passed throughout generation. The people who fear what they do not understand, and do not understand what they are fear. Fear of the unknown may be misguided which we actually cannot ignore fear because our life with fear everyday like death. The people of the village bounded together and went to great lengths to keep their community safe and protect themselves from their fears.
At the end of the movie, I was wondering that, that after a lady learn the truth about the creature that was actually all lie by the elders, even a magic stone to protect her from the creature she then throws away as she knew that the creature is not even existed. This could be a twist in a religion where, when ones have already learned the truth about the taboos and ritual which they see it as a lie; they tend to forget all the fear. Like if we know that a person considers he/she a god and someone had killed him, the person is no longer scared by the “superior thing” as he/she has no power over the believer because obviously he/she does not possess any superpower like a god.
Durkheim (1995), determines that we should not emanate from divine personalities and there are relations of cult which have other objects when uniting man to a deity. Religion is more that the idea of gods or spirits and consequently cannot be defined exclusively in the relation to these latter. I want to argue that in this village movie, I see that the spiritual being is something that able to see which it does not consist of soul or “spirit” but a mystical creature like a folk tale or fairy tale. This overlapping definition of spiritual being and divinity actually makes me notice that a god must have power, thus we can see that this creature has its power in the idea that the villagers should respect and having some kind of offering to this creature. Its overlap because I assume anything that consume power has this godlike and divinity characteristic. Actually, the rites, play more important role in producing the divine effect in religion, as it is served to praise the god or spiritual being. Durkheim (1995), suggest that not all religious qualities come from divine personalities like gods, spirit as religion can be defined beyond the idea of gods or spirits. There are rites which are which does not associate with any god. It can be considered the material aspects during ceremonies used to produce the desired effect or efficacy.
I believe that the significance of the ritual in the village community is to stop from getting bad spirit, with good omen been practiced as to keep the village in peace. According to Durkheim (1995), the reference, object, of rituals is the belief system of the realms of the sacred and the profane. He also attempts to understand the effects of religion on social solidarity in primitive society. This is an opportunity to see how religion functions to bind individuals to groups, regulate their behaviour, and connect them to the symbolic order and social structure. The function of ritual depends upon its reference. Positive rituals are concerned with consecrating or renewing an object or individual and avoidance in term of negative ritual like the taboo for example, can be classified as ritual where it applied to those rituals that concern something to be avoided and forbidden. Sacrificial, can be seen in the assessment of sacrificial ritual as the elementary form of religion. According to Henri and Mauss (1964), sacrifices to the gods (or any spiritual being) representing the community as it yield diverse personal and societal gains. This does not mean that sacrifice does not have any element of offering, but this ritual actually to gain benefit when particular ritual objects are included in the study of ritual. Freud (2004), locates religion in a succession of historical systems of thought between the primitive, animistic world view and the scientific one. I can consider that the villagers in the movie belief in a supernatural power that organizes and animates the material of the universe in the village because based on the passed belief of the creature in the woods. Apart from that, in the movie, certain colours can be considered sacred and profane. The villagers use red and yellow to show symbolic meaning. Red is seen dangerous colour and yellow is seen as a safe colour. The village afraid of the red colour because it has association with the creature which they wears red robes and leave a red mark at the villager’s house door when attacking them. While, yellow symbolize safety where, in the movie most of the people where yellow robes and there were yellow flags being placed surrounds the village. According to Weber (1991), religious ethic do not really begin with the context of personal power, but there was already another and highly effectual context of religious ethics, that is purely magically motivated norms of conduct, the violation of which was regarded as a religious abomination. (Like this spirits are variable and often the product of accident). Consequently, one must avoid irritating the spirit to not to harm oneself who possessed by it. Red is seen as something that is profane (evil) as they get rid any red colour including flowers or fruits which actually might be part of the ritual of getting rid of something that will affect the society as a whole. Durkheim (1995) also stated that, ritual is the organization of behaviour directed toward the sacred which serves to emphasize the cult identity and energize its normative structure and reinforces collective identity through affinity to the sacred. Moreover, an individual who performs a religious ritual or practice does not only done for spiritual reasons, but also to express their identification with the religion and its adherents as a whole. Thus, I strongly believe that ritual does have the element of religious which can be seen as a performance of ceremonial acts that prescribed by the village that takes on sacrifice when they know that the creature in the woods is angry at them.
The mystery is always linked to passion, enthusiasm and all the fear emotions, in shorts to life’s deepest troubled and greatest impulses. “The Village” movie actually tells us to explore the value of community. This movie has created an imagined community that has base for fear. The thing that the villagers afraid was the colour red and scared to “Those We Don’t Speak Of” which what they call the creatures in the woods. Durkheim (1995) emphasis that there is an unusual symbol in the The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. He emphasizes the role of religion in influencing and strengthening the social integration in which values and norms in society by rewarding good behaviour is allowed and bring people together to participate in a religious ritual that can strengthen unity among the people who practice the faith. However, according to Freud (1962), he likely said that it is a man’s need where he sees a tension between civilization and individual with the purpose of religion. I think in Freud work, he wanted to emphasize that the authority that wanted civilization demand for conformity where the individual seek for protection and freedom from them, which later the authority use religion as to control the whole society to be civilized. In the movie, I see that a belief was made to actually for the others own benefits which both has its pros and cons like Freud had stated. The “religion” or “belief system” in the movie is actually distinguished the feeling of danger with the fear based culture which divides the world into the village and the outsiders. It has its spiritual values which the community focus on the energies and the evil ones out there that usually proves defenceless against the dark forces within its own walls. Which later feeling of fear can be associated with supernatural associate sacred and profane which “the village” afraid to do something that has been told and passed throughout generation. The people who fear what they do not understand, and do not understand what they are fear. Fear of the unknown may be misguided which we actually cannot ignore fear because our life with fear everyday like death. The people of the village bounded together and went to great lengths to keep their community safe and protect themselves from their fears.
At the end of the movie, I was wondering that, that after a lady learn the truth about the creature that was actually all lie by the elders, even a magic stone to protect her from the creature she then throws away as she knew that the creature is not even existed. This could be a twist in a religion where, when ones have already learned the truth about the taboos and ritual which they see it as a lie; they tend to forget all the fear. Like if we know that a person considers he/she a god and someone had killed him, the person is no longer scared by the “superior thing” as he/she has no power over the believer because obviously he/she does not possess any superpower like a god.
Religious representations are a collective representation which expresses collective realities, rite of manner acting riter. In the The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, Durkehim (1995), overall saying that religion is something eminently social where the basic elements of religion are a unified system of belief and rituals which everyone share and in which keep the society together. It is sort of like a social phenomenon, system of belief or norms which the values that everyone share in a community that actually shape the community. Also a set of rituals which entails sacredness. In the village movie to sum up, the villagers acknowledge God. The village represented a new whole world and the elders were the ones in control and of great influence like the founder of faiths. They made up the idea of the creature and the outside forest like some feel other had made up their idea of God and heaven and hell to keep fear in those less intelligent and ignorant and thus maintain a sense of control. I can see that children respect adults who are committed to protecting their innocence. Community can be what helps us to survive against fear. When fear begins to threaten and take hold people reach out and turn to one another for support where strength is built with the sense of community.
Here I attached with the reading material that I have used. Chious :)