Man seeks to learn, and man kills himself because of the loss of cohesion in his religious society; he does not kill himself because of his learning. It is certainly not the learning he acquires that disorganizes religion; but the desire for knowledge wakens because religion becomes disorganized.
Emile DurkheimMen have been obliged to make for themselves a notion of what religion is, long before the science of religions started its methodical comparisons.
Emile DurkheimThe man whose whole activity is diverted to inner meditation becomes insensible to all his surroundings.
Emile DurkheimReligious representations are collective representations which express collective realities.
Emile Durkheim