Religion and Society: Sociology of Religion
摘要
The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, first brought out in 1912, was Émile Durkheim’s last major book published during his life time. In it, he yet again presented an analysis of the relation between individual and society through an original and insightful analysis of religion as a social phenomenon. This chapter discusses this book in detail. It also highlights the use of in-depth examination of an exemplar case in order to develop a thesis, what is now discussed as the case study method.