After the demise of Christianity, Western society did not become secular, according to Emile Durkheim, but located foundations in a new religion he calls the “cult of the individual.” This religion holds the rational individual person as sacred, and corresponds to a multi-faceted, complex, and diverse society united around individual democratic rights and modern science. Different traditional religions can co-exist in the cult of the individual, but only if they accept a subordinate status in relation to it. Durkheim maintains, however, that all religions construct authoritative regimes of truth and moral obligations, setting the stage for conflict. How then should modern democracies respond to challenges to their authority from traditional religions? This article argues that a Durkheimian response would be to assert the values of the cult of the individual, as this is the only way to maintain the integrity and viability of Western democratic society.

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现代民主的个人崇拜：涂尔干对宗教的共存和冲突

基督教的灭亡后，西方社会并没有成为世俗，根据涂尔干，而是位于地基在一个新的宗教，他所谓的“个人崇拜”。这种宗教持有理性的个体的人是神圣的，并对应于一个多面，复杂和多样化的社会围绕个人的民主权利和现代科学统一。不同的传统宗教是可以并存的个人崇拜，但只有当他们接受有关它的从属地位。涂尔干维护，但是，所有的宗教真理建设和道德义务的权威制度，设置冲突的舞台。那么应该如何现代民主应对挑战他们的权威从传统的宗教？本文认为，一个涂尔干的反应是断言个人崇拜的价值，因为这是维护西方民主社会的完整性和可行性的唯一途径。