Religion and its assistance to life

In "The Element Forms of Religious Life", part of Durkheim's discussion was that religion phenomena fell into two basic categories: beliefs and rites. This is the most fundamental criterion of religions that will most likely be true in application to any contemporary religion. Durkheim also argued that only after having defined the belief can we define the rite since the special nature of the object of the rite is expressed in the belief. This again is applicable to almost any religious organization. It always starts with a belief of some sorts before people start acting upon it; in religions, it is an extreme necessity of rites to worship and strengthen the beliefs. The sources where religious beliefs are often times assumed broad or unclear, yet its result in the performance of rites, which in this argument the particular mode of action, is usually more understandable.
In the discussion of the religious belief itself, Durkheim proposed that the idea of the division of the world into two domains: the sacred one and the profane one is such a distinctive trait of religious thought. It is also interesting how sacred things are characterized and leave the rest of those which do not fit any of its categories to the profane part. It is however like a principle of behavior that if you believe in religion, you have to believe in the existence of the sacred things as well. It is arguable what to consider sacred because not only gods and spirits are sacred; everything can become a sacred object depending on what people determine to have occurred in the result of it. Needless to say, anything that comes from the perception of human beings is disputable among themselves. The author also pointed out that men don't belong to the rank of sacred things even if one might be tempted to define sacred things by ordinarily assigned them in the hierarchy of beings, because man is "in no way sacred when he is only a man" (Durkheim 87). This is to say that men belong to the profane part of the world where all other profane things might have also been the result of their non-religious behaviors. In celebrating the sacred things or the sacredness in religions, they are celebrating something outside themselves, a perfection that they could not possess but always look up to, to feel as close to acceptance of the standard as possible. According to Durkheim: "A god is not only an authority to which we are subject but also a force that buttresses our own" (140). As a mentality, religious beliefs exist in one's life as a justice system of his/ her consciousness. Believing that someone of authority is always watching you will most likely discourage wrong doings, and at the same time promote moral consciousness and behavior. This is not necessarily true in all cases, yet people are more afraid to be judged by a more powerful authority rather than other people in the same profane world.
Religions have changed their courses throughout the history. Some ideas have been complicated, yet some have also been simplified, and most importantly is to be suitable with the society. We are living in the materialistic world where more and more people are seeking for the peace of mind or the sources of energy booster by searching for a more applicable religion that could help them uplift their moral beings, find meanings in life and live happily in faith.