A Retrospect on the 2008's candlelight rally: A Sociological Analysis of Emile Durkheim's Cult of Humanity

Chull Lee

This article is designed to examine a Durkheim’s concept of cult of humanity in the movement of 2008’s candlelight rally. The cult of humanity, a neglected Durkheimian concept, is a cult that considers humanity as a pivotal object of worship. According to Durkheim, this cult should not be regarded neither as an individualism nor as an egoism. It is rather an expression of faith for human values such as life, dignity, human rights, equality and so forth. He believed this cult would flourish in the future: the more the society becomes an age of division of labor, the more the cult would prosper. The judgement of Durkheim on this subject may prove to be right when we look over the ‘civil movements’ that take place these days all over the world. Among them was the 2008’s candlelight rally. This civil was not an expression of egoism or individualism in its common sense. The incident was something to do with claiming human values such as human right, life, health, family and future that they believed were threatened by the decision of importing the unhealthy meat. People in the rally, while protesting against their government’s decision, tried to protect the ‘sacred’ rights and congregations, worshipped these values and rights, formed a ‘moral community’ and established a cult of humanity. The implication of the cult to Christianity is one of the concerns of this study. This cult believes humanity as the most prominent element that can serve well the modern or post-modern people’s value system. Christianity also valued it, but not more than divinity. The primary object of worship in Christian church is not the human but the God. The cult of humanity can be thus a crisis or challenge to Christianity and its believers.

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* 2022년 이후 발행 논문의 참고문헌은 현재 구축 중입니다.

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