I loved the class today because it primarily focused on the real world application of Durkheim’s ideas. A constant theme that kept appearing was the tension that has built over the definition of society. I believe that the definitions that Durkheim give for society work for the tribal communities that he was studying; however, I think that as time has gone on and communities have grown, Durkheim’s idea of society can no longer be used. Durkheim’s definition of society only works for small communities. The large nations of today cannot fit into his definition of a collective unit operating under the same ideas. The fact of the matter is that the nations are too big and have too many people with different opinions. Because of this we can not define modern society using Durkheim’s definition. We need to tweak it.
The other main topic we covered was the evolution of religion. Religion is not what it used to be. Today nations are built on ideas instead of gods and other mystical beings. Science, or the logical way the earth works, has become the new medium through which we view the world. I thought it was interesting that Durkheim thinks science still needs religion as a community driving force. I think that this might be a little naive. There are things out there today that can cause people to come together as a community, like sports or environmental activism. I think religion is at the end of its bell curve.