Freedom of Religion/History/Country sources/Early Sociology
What have religious and philosophical traditions contributed to our understanding of this right?
Early Sociology
While sociology has been studied for many years, with different academics commenting on classic works from many different people, one prominent figure is Stephen Lukes, a political and social theoriest at NYU, who commented on Émile Durkheim’s work. Lukes views Durkheim as someone whose thoughts on sociology are essential to our understanding of it; he explains that “he’s hard to escape because there are some profound insights which entered into the very bloodstream of sociology thinking.” Without Durkheim, it’s possible we may have some unanswered questions about things in the realm of sociology. In an interview with Nigel Warburton, he explains several concepts that Durkheim has worked through. He explains how in Durkheim’s book he defines a “social fact” as something “external to individuals, meaning any individuals taken singly, they constrain us, they are independent of us, and they exist, sometimes this is called the theory of emergence” (Social Science Bites). While Lukes does quote things directly from Durkheim, he also tries to explain some things that Durkheim has said in his own words, or seems to put is own spin on what he thinks they mean. When referencing Durkheim’s book on suicide, he explains that this work “elaborates a theory in which there are, what he calls, ‘suicidogeic’ currents, [and] in the end came down to two ideas really: the extend to which people were integrated into larger social unities, communities, or so on, and the extent to which they were regulated by norms” (Social Science Bites). Lukes brings up Durkheim’s concept of “organic solidarity,” but added on that while he sees this as a problem, Durkheim didn’t provide a solution to this.
Lukes explains that Durkheim's book on religion is a “masterpiece” and that his book was a “big, very ambitious thing.” He generalizes this book as being “an attempt to develop a general theory of religion, what religion is, what its elements are, by studying the tribal religions that had been investigated and written about by missionaries and travellers at that time” (Social Science Bites). In the 1970s, Lukes wrote a book about Durkheim, “Emilie Durkheim: His Life and Eork. A Historical and Critical Study.” He explains that Durkheim was obsessed with “the question of social determination, and the ways in which our thoughts and behavior are shaped by, and reflect our social conditions and social life” (Social Science Bites). Durkheim’s thinking inspired Lukes’ “radical” view of power, and he believes it can be examined in “three dimensions - the overt, the covert, and the power to shape desires and beliefs” (Social Science Bites).
Bites, Social Science. “Steven Lukes on Durkheim.” Social Science Space. Last modified May 29, 2020. Accessed July 31, 2024. https://www.socialsciencespace.com/2015/05/steven-lukes-on-durkheim/.