RELIGION 315 



The instruction offered by a single chair at the College 

 de France was amplified in 1886 by the foundation of the 

 Section des Sciences Religieuses at the ficole Pratique des 

 Hautes fitudes. Here has been built up undeniably the 

 leading school in the world for the historical study of reli- 

 gion. 



But before recounting the opportunity for study there, 

 mention must be made of the work of fimile DURKHEIM, 

 professor of the science of education and sociology, 

 Faculty of Letters, University of Paris. He is the 

 leader of the so-called "sociological school," the most 

 notable recent development in the study of primitive 

 religions. In reaction from the excessive reliance upon 

 the more or less hypothetical psychology of primitive 

 man which marked previous study, Durkheim and his 

 followers emphasize the influence of social environment, 

 and find in totemism the primitive form of religion 

 (Durkheim, "Les formes elementaires de la vie reli- 

 gieuse," Paris, 1912, tr. New York, 1915). Hubert and 

 Mauss, "Melanges d'histoire des religions," Paris, 1909, is 

 a collection of studies reprinted from "L'Annee sociologi- 

 que" (Paris, 1896-), which represents this school both 

 through its exhaustive review of current literature and 

 through important articles by Durkheim and others. Out- 

 side the "sociological school," excellent work has also been 

 done by French scholars in the field of "primitive" reli- 

 gions. 



Instruction at Paris. (I) Ecole Pratique des Hautes 

 Etudes: Section des Sciences Religieuses. The work done 

 here is admirably illustrated by the seventeen essays 

 published under the title of "fitudes de critique et 

 d'histoire" by the Section des Sciences Religieuses in 

 1896. The subjects of these essays range from Mela- 

 nesian taboo to the Christology of Paul of Samosata. 



