Sociology of Religion, Fourth Edition, introduces students to key principles in the sociological understanding of religion. It offers an overview of the nature and function of religious institutions and practices, asking sociological questions about the changing role of religion in today’s “post-traditional” world. After an introduction to the many facets of religion and key theories for its study, the book examines central themes such as changes in religious life in the United States; the intersections between religion, social class, and power and between gender, sexuality, and religion; globalization and religion; religion in mass media; and more.
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About Us

About the Book

Part One: The Basics

  1. By Way of Introduction

Background

The Definitional Problem

Exploring the Dimensions of Religion

Social Relationships

Ethical Considerations

A Definitional Revision

The Plan of the Book

Suggestions for Further Reading

  1. Studying Religion

Why Study Religion?

How Do We Study Religion?

Survey Research

Participant Observation

Historical Research

Theory in the Study of Religion

Functionalist Theories

Conflict Theories

A Paradigm Shift

Rational Choice Theories

Sociologie Religieuse

Implicit Religion

Suggestions for Further Reading

  1. The “Religion” of Secularization and the History of Religions

The “World” of Religion

The Arguments

The Critique

The “Religions” of Secularization

Civil Religion

Invisible Religion

The Myth of the Age of Faith

Pluralism

Suggestions for Further Reading

  1. Religion in the United States: Denominationalism and Beyond

Churches and Sects

Weber’s Sociology and Troeltsch’s Ethics

Elaboration, Reaction, and Revision

Neo-Weberian Analyses

Denominationalism

Typology

Denominations Today

Congregationalism

American Religious Renewal

Mainlines and Sidelines in Religion in the United States

Evangelicals and Fundamentalists: Alike and Different

Suggestions for Further Reading

Part Two: Religion and Social Differentiation

  1. Social Class, Religion and Power: A Classic Field of Inquiry

Sociological Classics

Marx: The Permanent Exile and Prophet

Weber: Theodicy, Religious Ethics, and Social Class

Religion and the U.S. Class Structure

U.S. Classes and Religion in the Industrial Age: 1870–1970

The Class/Religion Nexus in the Neo-Liberal Era: 1970–

Suggestions for Further Reading

  1. Religion and Ethnicity: A Complex Relationship

Clarifying Terms: Ethnic, Nationality, and Racial Groups

Defining Ethnic Groups

Nationality Groups and Territoriality

The Specter of Race

Relational Patterns between Religion and Ethnicity

Ethnicity in the “Righteous Empire”

The Ethnic Factor in the Formative Period of U.S. Catholicism

The Jewish Diaspora

Herberg’s Thesis and the “Triple Melting Pot”

The African-American Religious Experience

From Different Shores: The New Immigrants

The New Ethnics as Protestants, Catholics, and Jews

Beyond Protestant, Catholic, Jew

Suggestions for Further Reading

  1. Gender, Sexuality, and Religion: Spirituality in Different Voices?

The Ordination Debate

Women in Clerical and Lay Roles

Culture Wars: Gender, Religion, and Family Values

Abortion and the Politics of the Body

Family Matters

Gays, Lesbians, and Religion

Images of God and Gendered Spirituality

Suggestions for Further Reading

Part Three: Religion, Culture, and Change

  1. Religious Change: The Case of Catholicism in the United States

Church with a Capital C

Change: From Breeze to Tornado

Commitment: Loyalty, but Not Obedience

Devotion: A Collapse of Authority

Governance: Guiding the People of God

Leadership: Failures at the Top

Membership: Problems in the Pews

African-American Catholics

Hispanic / Latino Catholics

Women in the Church

Personnel: People without Priests

Finances: Expanding Mission, Declining Resources

Suggestions for Further Reading

  1. Politicized Religion and Conflict: National and Global Dimensions

Fundamentalism

The Religious Right in the United States

Islamization

Ultraorthodox Judaism

Hindutva: Hindu Nationalism

Militant Buddhism in Sri Lanka

Conclusion

Suggestions for Further Reading

  1. Mediating Meaning: Religion in—and as—Contemporary Culture

Mass Faith: The Media of Religion

Religion in Material Culture: Faith in the Flesh

Religious Publishing: Words and The Word

“That Old-Time Religion”: Broadcast Faith in the United States

“In the Beginning . . .”

The Message: “His Master’s Voice”?

The Messengers: The Return of Elmer Gantry?

The Audience: Preaching to the Converted?

Cyber-Faith: Religion on the Internet

Suggestions for Further Reading

  1. Boundary Issues: Church, State, and New Religions

Religious Novelty

Cult and Anticult: Social Science and Social Movements

Asceticism and Mysticism

The Attraction of the Margin

Illustrations of NRM Dynamics

Unificationism (with Eileen Barker)

“Satanism” and Anti-Satanism

Neopaganism: Of Gods and Goddesses

Suggestions for Further Reading

References

Index

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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781538137987
Publisert
2025-03-26
Utgave
4. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
Rowman & Littlefield
Vekt
730 gr
Høyde
254 mm
Bredde
178 mm
Aldersnivå
U, 05
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Antall sider
408

Om bidragsyterne

Kevin J. Christiano is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and a past president of the Association for the Sociology of Religion and the American Council for Québec Studies.

Peter Kivisto is the Richard A. Swanson Professor of Social Thought at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, and a research fellow at the Università di Trento in Italy. An author or editor of more than twenty-five books, he is a member of the Council of the American Sociological Association.



William H. Swatos, Jr., served as the executive officer of the Association for the Sociology of Religion and of the Religious Research Association for many years. He is senior priest and Canon Theologian of the Anglican diocese of Quincy, Illinois.