Abstract
The subject of this essay is Emile Durkheim's book ?The Elementary Forms of the religious life'. Hence we will explain why and how E. Durkheim tries to find such elementary forms of religious life. We will first underline that this aim is not limited to Emile Durkheim's theory, as we can say that most anthropologists have tried to find one starting point for all the religions. We face our next difficulty when we try to define the elementary form of religious life because we can't find historical evidence to do so. What then are the different elementary forms proposed by the different anthropologists and how do they identify them? What are the links that can be established between those different theories and what are their interests in a study of religion? It then seems necessary to define what we call an elementary form of religious life. Is it the religion found in the origins of humanity or a phenomenon shared by all religions? Can we really find a universal essence for religion, or is it a single phenomenon? Finally it appears to be necessary to discuss the idea of a ''first or a simplest form of religion'' and its scientific necessity.
