Magic Science and Religion ^^ 



disgusting by tradition. But it works in the individual and 

 through forces of the individual mind. It is, therefore, neither 

 exclusively social nor individual, but a mixture of both. 



Professor Durkheim tries to establish his striking theory that 

 Society is the raw material of Godhead by an analysis of primitive 

 tribal festivities. He studies especially the seasonal ceremonies 

 of the Central Australians. In these " the great collective 

 effervescence during the periods of concentration " causes all 

 the phenomena of their religion, and " the religious idea is born 

 out of their effervescence." Professor Durkheim lays thus the 

 emphasis on emotional ebullition, on exaltation, on the increased 

 power which every individual feels when part of such a gathering. 

 Yet but a little reflection is sufficient to show that even in primitive 

 societies the heightening of emotions and the lifting of the individual 

 out of himself are by no means restricted to gatherings and to 

 crowd phenomena. The lover near his sweetheart, the daring 

 adventurer conquering his fears in the face of real danger, the 

 hunter at grips with a wild animal, the craftsman achieving a 

 masterpiece, whether he be savage or civilised, will under such 

 conditions feel altered, uplifted, endowed with higher forces. 

 And there can be no doubt that from many of these solitary 

 experiences where man feels the forebodings of death, the pangs 

 of anxiety, the exaltation of bliss, there flows a great deal of religious 

 inspiration. Though most ceremonies are carried out in public, 

 much of religious revelation takes place in solitude. 



On the other hand there are in primitive societies collective 

 acts with as much effervescence and passion as any religious ceremony 

 can possibly have, yet without the slightest religious colouring. 

 Collective work in the gardens, as I have seen it in Melanesia, 

 when men become carried away with emulation and zest for work, 

 singing rhythmic songs, uttering shouts of joy and slogans of com- 

 petitive challenge, is full of this " collective effervescence." But 

 it is entirely profane, and society which " reveals itself" in this as 

 in any other public performance assumes no divine grandeur or 

 godlike appearance. A battle, a sailing regatta, one of the big 

 tribal gatherings for trading purposes, an Australian lay-corrobboree, 

 a village brawl, are all from the social as well as from the psycho- 

 logical point of view essentially examples of crowd effervescence. 

 Yet no religion is generated on any of these occasions. Thus 

 the collective and the religious, though impinging on each other, 



