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Sociology Optional PYQ Solutions · Model answer

Give a critical review of Emile Durkheim’s theory on religion and society. To what extent does it explain the contemporary scenario in Asia?

  • UPSC 2004
  • Sociological Thinkers

In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912), Émile Durkheim defined religion as "a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things... which unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them". His core claim is that in worshipping the sacred, society worships itself.

You are reading the opening of the model answer. The full answer is part of Sociology Optional PYQ Solutions.

What the full answer covers

  • The theory
  • Critical review
  • How far it explains Asia
  • Where it explains
  • Where it fails
  • Conclusion

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