In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912), Emile Durkheim sets himself the task of discovering the enduring source of human social identity.
For Durkheim, studying Aboriginal religion was a way ``to yield an understanding of the Religious nature of man, by showing us an essential and permanent aspect of humanity.`` The need and capacity of men and women.
He investigates what he considered to be the simplest form of documented religion - totemism among the Aborigines of Australia.
In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912), Emile Durkheim sets himself the task of discovering the enduring source of human social identity