Analysis Of Symbolic Function To Social Integration

Durkheim pointed out in the book "The Elementary Forms of Religious Life "that symbol has the function with social integration in primitive society. This paper will explore the answer to the problem how symbol realize the function with social integration, and hope to get to the reference of modern social anomie through this research.Based on research on totem and symbolic ceremony in Australia primitive society, Durkheim found that people can enhance the connection between individuals, and between individual and society through holding periodic symbolic ceremony. And then the ceremony can inspire group members of collective emotional and cohesion. Durkheim hold that modern society was a anomie society, and society was facing the crisis of disintegration. How to realize the integration of the society, he provided our example as totem and symbolic ceremony in primitive society undoubtedly. This paper take "The Elementary Forms of Religious Life " by Durkheim as the unscrambled text, and trying to research on Durkheim's religious ideas to find how people enhance collective emotional, promote the groups of moral restraint and further achieve social integration through the symbolic ceremony. Durkheim's thought about symbol realizing social integration is a method of coping with anomie in modem society, and the thought has the positive significance of modern society. At the end of the article, the author discusses the enlightenment of Durkheim's thought in the modem society integration.