When comparing Weber and Durkheim, one might start simply by noting that whereas Durkheim was interested in the generic notion of religion (specifically the classification of the sacred and profane), Weber was concerned with the historical and comparative importance of religions. Durkheim famously observed it to consist of a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things. Weber, by contrast, declared in The Sociology of Religion that defining religion is not possible at the start of a presentation such as this. Definition can be attempted, if at all, only at the conclusion of the study. While Weber examined the consequences of the ‘economic ethics’ of the world religions, Durkheim examined the ‘elementary forms’ of religious classification, the impact of their emotional framing, how these classificatory systems were embedded in ritual practices, and finally how the ‘collective conscience’ was an essential foundation of the social. In short, Weber’s writings on religion differ from those of Durkheim in that they concentrate on the connection between religion and social change, something to which Durkheim gave little attention. They contrast with the work of Marx, because Weber argues that religion is not necessarily a conservative force; on the contrary, religiously inspired movements have often produced dramatic social transformations.