Why Durkheim really thought that Buddhism was a ‘religion’ (in memoriam Massimo Rosati)
In The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, and in ‘On the Definition of Religious Phenomena,' Durkheim famously asserted both that Buddhism was a ‘religion' and an ‘atheistic' one at that. Why he did so is a problem long-considered settled. Of two possible answers, one is commonpl...
| Auteur principal: | |
|---|---|
| Type de support: | Électronique Article |
| Langue: | Anglais |
| Vérifier la disponibilité: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | En cours de chargement...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Publié: |
Routledge
[2020]
|
| Dans: |
Religion
Année: 2020, Volume: 50, Numéro: 4, Pages: 653-670 |
| Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés: | B
Durkheim, Émile 1858-1917, Les formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse
/ Buddhisme
/ Athéisme
/ Religion
/ Justification
/ Sens de la vie
|
| RelBib Classification: | AA Sciences des religions AD Sociologie des religions BL Bouddhisme |
| Sujets non-standardisés: | B
Making a life
B Buddhism B dynamogenism |
| Accès en ligne: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Résumé: | In The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, and in ‘On the Definition of Religious Phenomena,' Durkheim famously asserted both that Buddhism was a ‘religion' and an ‘atheistic' one at that. Why he did so is a problem long-considered settled. Of two possible answers, one is commonplace, while the other is uncommon and consequential. I shall attempt to explicate Durkheim's uncommon and far- reaching, but overlooked, reasons for declaring atheistic Buddhism a ‘religion.' This essay concurs with Martin Southwold that Durkheim believed - wrongly - that religion was ‘monothetic' class, when, in fact, it was ‘polythetic.' In order to admit Buddhism as a ‘religion,' Durkheim discovered that he had to apply different criteria for defining Buddhism as ‘religion’ than to theistic religions. Buddhism did not radiate dynamogenic force or induce a sense of existential dependence. Buddhism was a religion because it was an agent in making a meaningful life. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1096-1151 |
| Contient: | Enthalten in: Religion
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/0048721X.2020.1761004 |