Thinker
Émile Durkheim
Émile Durkheim is central to 89 previous-year questions, spanning 2009 to 2025 across Paper I and Paper II. Everything below is drawn from the official papers — the questions themselves, the concepts they test, and where they sit in the syllabus.
89Questions
2009–25Years tested
I & IIPaper
12Syllabus topics
Concepts asked alongside Émile Durkheim
What the examiner actually wants you to know when this name appears.
positivism 15sacred and profane 13collective conscience 12anomie 9totemism 9verstehen 9social solidarity 8collective effervescence 7empiricism 7objectivity 7social facts 7alienation 6collective consciousness 6division of labour 6sociological imagination 6modernity 5comparative method 4externality and constraint 4
Where Émile Durkheim appears in the syllabus
Every question on Émile Durkheim
Each links to a full breakdown — how to approach it, a model answer, and the examiner’s perspective.
2025
- 'Educational development is the only Panacea for country's all ills and evils.' Critically examine the above statement with reference to NEP-2020.
- How do theories of Marx, Weber and Durkheim differ in understanding religion? Explain.
- In what way is the scope of sociology unique? Explain.
- What is a variable in social research? What are their different types? Elaborate.
- What is positivism? Critically analyze the major arguments against it.
- What is science? Do you think that the methods used in natural sciences can be applied to sociology? Give reasons for your answer.
2024
- Describe various characteristics of a 'social fact'. How is rate of suicide a social fact according to Durkheim ?
- Discuss the concept of animism and differentiate it from naturism.
- Discuss the nature of Sociology. Highlight its relationship with Social Anthropology.
- Education is a key to social development. Elucidate.
- How do religious communities contribute to the cultural diversity of India?
- Marriage as an institution has undergone a radical transformation from 'ritual' to 'commercial' in its outlook. Explain the factors behind this change.
2023
- Do you think that common sense is the starting point of social research? What are its advantages and limitations? Explain.
- Highlight the differences and similarities between totemism and animism.
- Highlight the salient features of the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
- What functions does religion perform in a pluralistic society?
2022
2021
- Explain the sociological significance of the New Education Policy and its thrust on vocationalization and skill development.
- Explain whether Durkheim's theory of Division of Labour is relevant in the present day context.
- From the viewpoint of growing importance of multidisciplinarity, how do you relate sociology to other social sciences?
- How do qualitative and quantitative methods supplement each other in sociological enquiry?
- How far are sociologists justified in using positivist approach to understand social reality? Explain with suitable illustrations.
- With suitable examples, explain how conformity and deviance coexist in a society as propounded by R.K. Merton.
2020
- According to Durkheim, “The major function of education is the transmission of society's norms and values.” Discuss.
- Critically analyse Durkheim's views on elementary forms of religious life and role of religion. Also discuss the consequences of religious revivalism in contemporary society.
- How did the intellectual forces lead to the emergence of sociology ? Discuss.
- State the reasons for the various religious beliefs and practices in pre-modern societies.
- What are the problems in observing social facts in Durkheim's views ?
2019
2018
- Distinguish between quantitative and qualitative techniques of data collection with suitable examples from Indian society.
- Does scientific method make Sociology a science ? Illustrate your answer with Durkheim's method.
- Explain Durkheim's basic arguments on suicide. Can you analyse high suicide rates of contemporary Indian society with Durkheim's theory ?
- Explain with examples, the explanatory and exploratory designs of social research.
- In what way did Durkheim perceive religion as functional to society ?
- What is the difference between anomie in Merton and Durkheim ? Explain.
2017
- Discuss distinct sociological method adopted by Emile Durkheim in his study of 'suicide'.
- Discuss the changing equations of discipline of sociology with other social sciences.
- Elaborate on various types of religious practices prevalent in Indian society.
- Examine the basic postulates of positivism and post-positivism.
- Explain how sociology has emerged as a distinct discipline based on rationality and scientific temper.
- Give an assessment of Durkheimian notion of 'sacred' and 'profane' in sociology of religion.
- Illustrate with example the significance of variables in sociological research.
2016
- “Hypothesis is a statement of the relationship between two or more variables.” Elucidate by giving example of poverty and illiteracy.
- “Sociology is pre-eminently study of modern societies.” Discuss.
- Describe the basic postulates of scientific method. How far are these followed in sociological research?
- Describe the nature of social organization of work in industrial society.
- How is Durkheim's theory of religion different from Max Weber's theory of religion?
2015
- “Anomie is rooted in social structure.” Explain with reference to R.K. Merton's contribution.
- Elaborate the views of Durkheim on “The Elementary Forms of Religious Life”.
- How is social equilibrium maintained in Parsonian framework ?
- Important components of National Education Policy in India
- Is Sociology a Science ? Give reasons for your answer.
- What are variables ? Discuss their role in experimental research.
2014
- “According to Durkheim, the essence of religion in modern society is the same as religion in primitive society.” Comment.
- How is sociological approach to human actions different from that of psychological approach?
- Identify the similarities and differences between Marx's theory of 'alienation' and Durkheim's theory of 'anomie'.
- In what way 'interpretative' method is different from 'positivist' approach in the study of social phenomena?
- What are the demographic projections for the ageing population (60+) for the next decade? What are the implications for formulating policy for them?
2013
- “Science has empirical means to logical ends and religion has non-empirical means to logical ends.” — Comment.
- “Sociology emerged in Europe and flourished to begin with on social reformist orientation in the U.S.A.” — Comment.
- Analyse the limitations of quantitative methods in social research.
- Compare and contrast Sociology with Anthropology.
- Compare Karl Marx with Emile Durkheim with reference to the framework of ‘division of labour’.
- Critically examine positivistic approach in sociological studies.
- Critically examine the functionalist tradition in Sociology.
- Illustrate the conflicts and tensions experienced by societies undergoing social change.
- Is religion antithetical to science? Comment.
2012
- ‘Social fact is to be treated as a thing.’ Discuss.
- Comparative Method
- Differentiate between the qualitative and quantitative methods in Research.
- Discuss the factors leading to growing religious revivalism in the contemporary world.
- How did the French revolution and Industrial revolution play an important role in the emergence of Sociology ?
- Sacred and Profane.
- Show how Durkheim through the study of totemism demonstrates the reality of religion.
2011
- “Collective action in politics can bring integration and disintegration in society.” Comment.
- Bring out the relationship between social class and mortality.
- Define sect, cult and religion. In what way do Weber's views on religion differ from those of Durkheim ?
- Emergence of Sociology is an outcome of modernity and social change in Europe
- What can Sociology show us about our actions ? Discuss the practical significance of Sociology.
2010
2009
- “Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.” Comment on this statement critically in the light of emerging sociological contexts in Europe, USA and India.
- Law and social change
- Subject-matter of Sociology, according to Emile Durkheim
- To Robert Merton, deviant behaviour is a result of anomie. Analyse his sociological theory of deviant behaviour, with a special reference to his formulation of types of deviance.
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