Collective effervescence
Collective effervescence (CE) is a sociological concept coined by Émile Durkheim. According to Durkheim, a community or society may at times come together and simultaneously communicate the same thought and participate in the same action. Such an event then causes collective effervescence which excites individuals and serves to unify the group.[1]
In religion
Collective effervescence is the basis for
The force is thus associated with the totem which is the symbol of the clan, mentioned by Durkheim in his study of "elementary forms" of religion in Aboriginal societies. Because it provides the tribe's name, the symbol is present during the gathering of the clan. Through its presence in these gatherings, the totem comes to represent both the scene and the strongly felt emotion, and thus becomes a collective representation of the group.[2]
For Durkheim, religion is a fundamentally social phenomenon. The beliefs and practices of the sacred are a method of
The group members experience a feeling of a loss of individuality and unity with the gods and according to Durkheim, thus with the group.[4]
See also
- Bandwagon effect
- Crowd psychology
- Collective action
- Collective behavior
- Collective consciousness
- Collective hysteria
- Collective intelligence
- Echo chamber (media)
- Herd behavior
- Herd instinct
- Hooliganism
- Football hooliganism
- Group action (sociology)
- Group behaviour
- Group cohesiveness
- Groupthink
- Limbic resonance
- Mass action (sociology)
- Ochlocracy
- Peer pressure
- Psychology of religion
- Social comparison theory
- Spiral of silence
- Superorganism
References
- ^ "Durkheim, Emile | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy". Iep.utm.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
- ^ Griswold, Wendy, Cultures and Societies in a Changing World, Pine Forge Press, 2008; 51-56.
- ^ Durkheim 1995, p. 208 (1965, p. 236).
- ^ Kunin, pp. 20-21.
Sources
- Durkheim, Émile. The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, (1912, English translation by Joseph Swain: 1915) The Free Press, 1965: ISBN 0-02-907937-3
- Griswold, Wendy, Cultures and Societies in a Changing World, Pine Forge Press, 2008; 51-56.
- Kunin, Seth D. Religion; the modern theories, University of Edinburgh, 2003: ISBN 0-7486-1522-9