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Sociology Optional PYQ Solutions · Model answer

Give an assessment of the Durkheimian notion of ‘sacred’ and ‘profane’ in sociology of religion.

  • UPSC 2017
  • Religion and Society

In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912), Émile Durkheim argued that every religion presupposes a classification of things into the sacred, set apart and forbidden, and the profane, the ordinary world. This division, not belief in gods, became his defining mark of religion. Its value lies in its analytical reach; its weakness in its…

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What the full answer covers

  • The notion
  • Strengths
  • Criticisms
  • Indian assessment
  • Conclusion

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