海角社区

Have you ever been to a concert or a college football game and felt the electricity that comes from being part of the crowd? That鈥檚 鈥渃ollective effervescence,鈥� a term coined by the sociologist 脡mile Durkheim more than a century ago. The concept can help us to understand religion, teen takeovers, or why people love live music.

My colleague Dr. Heather Farley鈥檚 column on the arts from last week provided inspiration for today鈥檚 column. Dr. Farley reflected on going to see the Coastal Symphony of Georgia at CCGA鈥檚 new Center for the Arts. She wrote 鈥溾��what stuck with me was the shared experience of it all鈥� There was a buzz in the building that鈥檚 hard to define鈥� There is something unique about sitting in a room with other people and experiencing art together.鈥� That buzz is collective effervescence.

When members of a likeminded group come together, maintain a common focus, and participate in some shared action, collective effervescence often occurs. Sociologist 脡mile Durkheim discusses the concept in The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Durkheim notes that groups often gather for rituals that focus on a totem鈥攁 symbol that represents the shared values of the collective. Sacred group rituals produce emotional energy, a loss of individuality, feelings of belonging, and reaffirmations of shared identity. Collective effervescence is a foundational mechanism of group solidarity. Durkheim was writing about Aboriginal groups, but collective effervescence occurs among secular groups as well.

Durkheim claims that collective effervescence is likely to emerge in rituals that are sacred to the group, but collective effervescence is less likely to occur in profane or instrumental actions like work or cleaning. Sacred activities are 鈥渢hings set apart and forbidden,鈥� while profane activities involve mundane, individual, or instrumental behaviors.

Consider collective effervescence among Georgia (football) fans. Gamedays are sacred. There is no shortage of group rituals, including gathering with other Georgia fans, wearing red and black, Calling the Dawgs, drinking, and eating gameday foods. When a true fan takes their pilgrimage to Sanford Stadium, rituals including the Dawg Walk, ringing of the chapel bell, and other traditions. These rituals leave participants with an emotional charge that reaffirms one鈥檚 commitment to the team and to the university. Every fandom has its own sacred rituals that produce collective effervescence.

Collective effervesce also emerges in protests, riots, and teen takeovers. The concept explains how otherwise rational and well-adjusted people can engage in unruly behavior in these group settings.

A quarter century ago, Robert Putnam said that Americans were 鈥渂owling alone.鈥� Now, we are 鈥渟crolling alone.鈥� Modern technologies like smart phones and social media give us the illusion of deep connection and intimacy, while depriving us of rich relationships and community. Though we are more connected virtually than at any point in history, belonging has become scarce.

Americans have lost our 鈥渢hird place;鈥� too few people have a place where they congregate with others outside of home and work. A church, a bar, a barber shop, a pickleball court, a local nonprofit, or a caf茅 can provide an anchor for community life. It might seem insignificant to not know your neighbors, but wholesale withdrawal from civic and social life leaves us ripe for poor mental health, substance abuse, or radicalization.

How did we get here? Modern technologies like the internet and smartphones play a central role, but there鈥檚 more going on. Religious participation has declined. Declining marriage rates, the rise of single parenthood, and more people living unpartnered all change how we socialize. Many Americans struggle economically; some work overtime, some take on a second job, and others cut back on recreation to afford necessities.

Most of us are missing out on the collective effervescence of the symphony, the congregation, the concert, or the protest. Too many lack a third place. We are deprived of opportunities to engage in shared rituals with likeminded people. The true cost is the loss of belonging.

Roscoe Scarborough, Ph.D. is chair of the Department of Social Sciences and associate professor of sociology at 海角社区. He is an associate scholar at the Reg Murphy Center for Economic and Policy Studies. He can be reached by email at rscarborough@ccga.edu.