From Rituals to Practices: Civil Religion as a Subject of E. Durkheim’s Socio-Philosophical Concept

The research proposes reassembly of the concept of civil religion with reference to the work of E. Durkheim, which, according to the authors, can contribute to the development of general theoretical and methodological foundations and epistemology of civil religion. The materials for the research are the works of E. Durkheim, as well as theorists of civil religion. In the first step, the authors clarify the definitions of religion from Durkheim’s definitions of religion, justifying that the sacred is not necessarily connected with the divine or belief in the supernatural. Further, drawing on Durkheim's theory of the social Durkheim’s theory of the social, the authors show that civil religion is a consequence of the of Durkheim's postulated determinizing power of the social. In the next step the authors justify how Durkheim's thesis can be used to analyze the contemporary civil religion. First, in order to create social solidarity requires the conscious use of collective feelings and ideas. Second, rituals are necessary to maintain collective perceptions and their broadcast, but they do not construct these perceptions per se. Third, there is no difference between the emotions and experiences of the people who participate in a any religious or civic ceremony. In order to examine the functioning of civil religion under conditions of organic solidarity, the authors turn to Durkheim’s writings on education. The sociologist insists on the possibility of a universal moral system, and the transmission of norms and values should take place not only in the moments of rituals, but also in the process of daily educational work. Thus, the analysis made it possible to come to the following conclusions: 1) practices of civil religion should take into account the determining power of the social; 2) civil religion in Durkheim’s interpretation is the cult of man and the universal; 3) it is necessary to distinguish between civil religion and political use of symbols, since civil practices themselves should be aimed at solidarizing not so much the political nation as citizens as people.