Is Durkheim’s “Sociologism” Outdated? Debating “Individualism” in Contemporary French Sociology of Religion

Abstract

This paper critically examines and rejects arguments made by contemporary sociologists in France about the appropriateness of Durkheim's sociology in general, and his sociology of religion in particular. A century after the publication of The Elementary Forms, social scientists, especially in Europe, contend that "individualized" spiritualities are the definitive feature of contemporary forms of modern, globalised religion and infer from this empirical evidence that Durkheim's "sociologism" is outdated. However, contemporary evidence indicates that collective religious expressions are colonizing the public spaces from whence they ostensibly had been withdrawn. Individualization, per se, is not only a contested concept but also a normative discursive technique of rationalization by which the great religions and new religious movements adjust to the "individualistic" values of modernity in global settings. This paper addresses the question of whether Durkheim really was wrong about the collective, yet complex nature and future of religion.Résumé. Cet article discute la manière dont on estime en France que la sociologie de Durkheim en général, et sa sociologie des religions en particulier, n»est plus pertinente actuellement. Un siècle après la publication des Formes Élémentaires… les spécialistes du religieux, en particulier en Europe, affirment que les « spiritualités individualisées » seraient l»ultime trait d»une religion moderne et mondialisée, un constat à partir duquel on infère l»obsolescence du « sociologisme » durkheimien. Les preuves de la colonisation des espaces publics par des expressions religieuses collectives abondent pourtant, et l»individualisation, un concept contesté, est aussi une technique discursive et normative de rationalisation par laquelle les grandes religions comme les nouveaux mouvements religieux s»ajustent aux valeurs « individualistes » de la modernité dans le contexte mondial. On peut alors se demander si Durkheim s»est vraiment trompé à propos de la nature collective mais complexe de la religion, et de son futur.