Nature & Religion
In this activity, students can learn how Nature & Religion are linked through the inspiration of Emile Durkheim’s book ‘The Elementary Forms of Religious Life’. In the book, he argues that religion is a social phenomenon to provide emotional security and that societies divide the world into two categories: the sacred (special) and the profane (ordinary).
Durkheim argued that nature symbols are commonly used as a deity to represent society. Whilst society is the real object of religious worship and admiration, it is easier for a person to ‘visualise and direct his feelings of awe towards a symbol than towards a complex thing such as a clan’.
Documents can be found below and are suitable for KS3 & KS4 levels.
Download our resources:
