The Sage Handbook of the Sociology of Religion

by James A Beckford

• ISBN13: 9781412911955
• ISBN10: 1412911958
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-11-19
• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd

Summary

"Serious social scientists who care about making sense of the world can no longer ignore the fact that religious beliefs and practices are an important part of this world. Nor can scholars claim to understand religion by adding a couple of variables to their models, anymore than they could understand race, gender, or social class this way. This Handbook is a valuable resource for specialists and amateurs alike. The editors have done an exceptionally fine job of incorporating topics that illuminate the range and diversity of religion and its continuing significance throughout the world." - Robert Wuthnow, Princeton UniversityAt a time when religions are increasingly affecting, and affected by, life beyond the narrowly sacred sphere, religion everywhere seems to be caught up in change and conflict. In the midst of this contention and confusion, the sociology of religion provides a rich source of understanding and explanation. This Handbook presents an unprecedentedly comprehensive assessment of the field, both where it has been and where it is headed. Like its many distinguished contributors, its topics and their coverage are truly global in their reach.The Handbook's 35 chapters are organized into eight sections: basic theories and debates; methods of studying religion; social forms and experiences of religion; issues of power and control in religious organizations; religion and politics; individual religious behaviour in social context; religion, self-identity and the life-course; and case studies of China, Eastern Europe, Israel, Japan, and Mexico.Each chapter establishes benchmarks for the state of sociological thinking about religion in the 21st century and provides a rich bibliography for pursuing its subject further. Overall, the Handbook stretches the field conceptually, methodologically, comparatively, and historically. It promises to be an indispensable source of guidance and insight for both students and scholars for years to come.Praise for this text:"In their introduction to this Handbook, the editors affirm: 'Many sociologists have come to realise that it makes no sense now to omit religion from the repertoire of social scientific explanations of social life'. I wholeheartedly agree. I also suggest that this wide-ranging set of essays should become a starting-point for such enquiries. Each chapter is clear, comprehensive and well-structured - making the Handbook a real asset for all those engaged in the field." - Grace Davie,   Professor of Sociology, University of Exeter, UK"In the last two decades the sociology of religion has experienced an intellectual renaissance. The old paradigm of secularization has been replaced with new theories and methods recognising the importance of religion in modern society. The new topics include women and spirituality, violence and power, globalization and glocalization, fundamentalism, identity and life course, spiritual markets and rational choice theory. The Handbook for the Sociology of Religion not only reflects but develops and extends this renaissance. Not so much a handbook but an intellectual feast." - Bryan Turner,  National University of Singapore

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables	p. ix
About the Contributors	p. x
Introduction	p. 1
Theories and Concepts	p. 17
The Classical Tradition in Sociology of Religion	p. 19
Assessing Modernities: From 'Pre-' to 'Post-' to 'Ultra-'	p. 39
Secularization and Sacralization Deconstructed and Reconstructed	p. 57
Rational Choice and Religious Economies	p. 81
Globalization and Glocalization	p. 98
Methods of Studying Religion	p. 119
Micro Qualitative Approaches to the Sociology of Religion: Phenomenologies, Interviews, Narratives, and Ethnographies	p. 121
Surveys of Behaviour, Beliefs and Affiliation: Micro-Quantitative	p. 144
History, Methodologies, and the Study of Religion	p. 167
Social Forms and Experiences of Religion	p. 189
Congregations Resurgent	p. 193
Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism: The Politics of Global Popular Protestantism	p. 205
From 'Cults' to New Religious Movements: Coherence, Definition, and Conceptual Framing in the Study of New Religious Movements	p. 227
New Age Religion and Irreligion	p. 248
Civil Religion in America and in Global Context	p. 267
Issues of Power and Control in Religious Organisations	p. 293
Keepers of the Tradition: Religious Professionals and their Careers	p. 295
Orders and Schisms on the Sacred Periphery	p. 323
Faith-Based Initiatives	p. 345
Religion on the Internet	p. 357
Religion and Politics	p. 377
Religion and the State; Violence and Human Rights	p. 381
Religion and Regulation	p. 396
Religion in Rebellion, Resistance, and Social Movements	p. 419
Religious Affiliations, Political Preferences, and Ideological Alignments	p. 438
Individual Religious Behaviour in Social Context	p. 459
Cross-National Comparisons of Individual Religiosity	p. 463
Rethinking the Relationship Between Ethnicity and Religion	p. 490
Religious Socialization among American Youth: How Faith Shapes Parents, Children, and Adolescents	p. 511
Age, Generation, and Cohort in American Religion and Spirituality	p. 526
Religion, Self-Identity and the Life-Course	p. 547
Religion and Identity	p. 549
Gender Differences in Religious Practice and Significance	p. 566
Embodiment, Emotion and Religious Experience: Religion, Culture and the Charismatic Body	p. 587
Religion as a Factor in Life and Death through the Life-Course	p. 608
Case Studies from Around the World	p. 631
Oligopoly Dynamics: Official Religions in China	p. 635
The Religious Landscape of Central and Eastern Europe after Communism	p. 654
Judaism in Israel: Public Religion, Neo-Traditionalism, Messianism, and Ethno-Religious Conflict	p. 670
State Shinto and Religion in Post-War Japan	p. 697
Mexico: A Mirror for the Sociology of Religion	p. 710
Index	p. 729
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