vol. 1, pp. 132-3, and forms part of the article on the subject of culture.
This particular definition of religion is quoted by Ferré, Frederick, Basic
have to operate w ith o u t a u n ifyin g principle^» and certain clarificatio ns, co nfirm in g its societal o r d e r ^ 9 .
It becomes apparent th a t my understanding o f re lig io n -cu ltu s and doctrine- is located in the overall thought o f the Durkheim ean sociology. D urkheim 's idea o f the sacred realm as the expression o f society's awareness o f its e lf draws upon the thesis th a t religious behaviour is an aspect o f prescribed social b e h a v i o u r ^ o For him , the
sacred is essentially an artefact o f society. It is a necessary set o f conventions resting upon a p a rticu la r d ivision o f labour, w hich produces the energy fo r th a t kind o f system. It is this placing o f proxim ate acts in ultim ate contexts th at renders re lig io n socially prom inent. To D urkheim , “ re ligio n is a unifie d system o f beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, th a t is to say, things set apart and fo rb idde n -beliefs and practices, w hich unite in to a single m oral com m unity called a church a ll those who adhere to them .^i” The
Societal references o f un ity beyond the religious domain do of course exist. The extent and scope of securahsation determines their prominence in society. However, as already suggested, in Serbia the project of secularisation has not been completed and this renders religion a significant referent of collective subjectivity.
59 My syllogism is based on a proposition advanced by M aiy Douglas in which she examines the correlation between the "absence" of religion and personal conduct.
See, Douglas, M ary, Im plicit Meanings, p. 76.
^ See, Durkheim , Emile, The Elementary Forms o f the Religious Life, (Glencoe,
lUinois: Free Press, 1954). 61 Ibid., p. 47.
sacred content th at is set apart and forbidden is rendered graspable through ritu a lis tic practices, consolidating the rela tion between the in d iv id u a l and his o r her society. These practices in va ria b ly embody social prescriptions and tra d ition s whose co n trib u tio n to m oral life is considered o f equal significance to th a t o f food fo r one's physical
p r e s e r v a t i o n ^ ^ . Thus, a deep sense o f m oral id e n tifica tio n is evoked,
reinforced by the danger o f crossing forbidden boundaries.
In the Serbian society, religio n provides the boundaries, w hich endow life w ith its custom ary patterns. In m arking its own te rrito ry , re lig io n affects a ll lower levels o f th in kin g , so th a t people realise th e ir own identities and also classify each other through com m unity a ffilia tio n . Through religious sym bolism every elem ent o f nature and o f hum an a c tiv ity is rendered in te llig ib le and in the same stroke a broader meaning on the universe and the place o f m ankind in it, is conferred. The in s titu tio n o f religio n hence affords to its members analogies w ith w hich to explore the w orld, sets the term s fo r self- awareness and secures the social edifice by sanctifying the principles o f “justice.” This is precisely D urkheim 's n otion o f the sacred and fo r th a t reason 1 shall correlate religion w ith the social cohesion in Serbia. To that end, 1 regard religio n as the social expression o f a ll that is im p o rta n t about the Serbian being and his co lle ctivity. In doing so, I rem ain m in d fu l o f the fact th a t not a ll instances and experiences o f social effervescence are o f a religious character -a criticism applied to D urkheim 's analysis o f religio n by
p . 3 8 2 .
his contem poraries, since he contributed the rise o f fa ith to a heightened sociability. Nonetheless, as the religious content o f homo and fem ina Serbicus emanates from C hristian ity, w hich according to Georges F lo ro vsl^ "... from the very beginning existed as a corporate re a lity, as a com m unity^^," the Durkheimean correlation o f the sacred w ith the social approximates the theoretical needs o f m y analysis.
A b rie f account o f the C hristian fa ith shall fu rth e r co n firm the v a lid ity o f the preceding assumption. The rela tion o f O rthodoxy and Serbianhood is the p rim a ry subject o f the next chapter.