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The '''sociology of religion''' is primarily the study of the [[practices]], social [[structure]]s, [[history|historical]] backgrounds, development, universal themes, and roles of [[religion]] in [[society]]. There is particular emphasis on the recurring role of religion in nearly all societies on Earth today and throughout recorded history. Sociologists of religion attempt to explain the effects of society on religion and the effects of religion on society; in other words, their dialectical relationship.

The '''sociology of religion''' is primarily the study of the [[practice]s], social [[structure]]s, [[history|historical]] backgrounds, development, universal themes, and roles of [[religion]] in [[society]]. There is particular emphasis on the recurring role of religion in nearly all societies on Earth today and throughout recorded history. Sociologists of religion attempt to explain the effects of society on religion and the effects of religion on society; in other words, their dialectical relationship.

==Typology of religious groups==

==Typology of religious groups==

Émile Durkheim placed himself in the [[positivist]] [[tradition]], [[meaning]] that he [[thought]] of his study of society as dispassionate and scientific. He was deeply interested in the problem of what held complex modern societies together. Religion, he argued, was an expression of social cohesion.

Émile Durkheim placed himself in the [[positivist]] [[tradition]], [[meaning]] that he [[thought]] of his study of society as dispassionate and scientific. He was deeply interested in the problem of what held complex modern societies together. Religion, he argued, was an expression of social cohesion.

In the fieldwork that led to his famous '''''[http://www.amazon.com/Elementary-Forms-Religious-Life/dp/0029079373 Elementary Forms of Religious Life]''''', Durkheim, a secular Frenchman, spent fifteen years studying primitive religion among the Indigenous Australians. His underlying interest was to understand the basic forms of religious life for all societies. In Elementary Forms, Durkheim argues that the totems the aborigines venerate are actually expressions of their own [[concept]]ions of [[society]] itself. This is true not only for the aborigines, he argues, but for all societies.

In the fieldwork that led to his famous '''''[https://www.amazon.com/Elementary-Forms-Religious-Life/dp/0029079373 Elementary Forms of Religious Life]''''', Durkheim, a secular Frenchman, spent fifteen years studying primitive religion among the Indigenous Australians. His underlying interest was to understand the basic forms of religious life for all societies. In Elementary Forms, Durkheim argues that the totems the aborigines venerate are actually expressions of their own [[concept]]ions of [[society]] itself. This is true not only for the aborigines, he argues, but for all societies.

Religion, for Durkheim, is not "imaginary," although he does deprive it of what many believers find [[essence|essential]]. Religion is very real; it is an expression of [[society]] itself, and indeed, there is no society that does not have religion. We perceive as [[individuals]] a force greater than ourselves, which is our social life, and give that [[perception]] a [[supernatural]] face. We then express ourselves religiously in [[groups]], which for Durkheim makes the [[symbolic]] [[power]] greater. Religion is an expression of our collective [[consciousness]], which is the [[fusion]] of all of our individual consciousnesses, which then creates a [[reality]] of its own.

Religion, for Durkheim, is not "imaginary," although he does deprive it of what many believers find [[essence|essential]]. Religion is very real; it is an expression of [[society]] itself, and indeed, there is no society that does not have religion. We perceive as [[individuals]] a force greater than ourselves, which is our social life, and give that [[perception]] a [[supernatural]] face. We then express ourselves religiously in [[groups]], which for Durkheim makes the [[symbolic]] [[power]] greater. Religion is an expression of our collective [[consciousness]], which is the [[fusion]] of all of our individual consciousnesses, which then creates a [[reality]] of its own.

For Weber, religion is best understood as it responds to the [[human]] need for [[theodicy]] and [[soteriology]]. Human beings are troubled, he says, with the question of theodicy – the question of how the extraordinary [[power]] of a [[divine]] god may be reconciled with the imperfection of the world that he has created and rules over. People need to know, for example, why there is undeserved good fortune and suffering in the world. Religion offers people soteriological answers, or answers that provide opportunities for salvation – relief from suffering, and reassuring meaning. The pursuit of salvation, like the pursuit of [[wealth]], becomes a part of human motivation.

For Weber, religion is best understood as it responds to the [[human]] need for [[theodicy]] and [[soteriology]]. Human beings are troubled, he says, with the question of theodicy – the question of how the extraordinary [[power]] of a [[divine]] god may be reconciled with the imperfection of the world that he has created and rules over. People need to know, for example, why there is undeserved good fortune and suffering in the world. Religion offers people soteriological answers, or answers that provide opportunities for salvation – relief from suffering, and reassuring meaning. The pursuit of salvation, like the pursuit of [[wealth]], becomes a part of human motivation.

Because religion helps to define motivation, Weber believed that religion (and specifically Protestant [[Calvinism]]) actually helped to give rise to modern [[capitalism]], as he asserted in his most famous and controversial work, '''''[http://books.google.com/books?id=fo9OIS7I0XAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=protestant+ethic+and+the+spirit+of+capitalism&lr=&ei=A337SbnbM5OCygSuiZ36Dw The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]'''''.

Because religion helps to define motivation, Weber believed that religion (and specifically Protestant [[Calvinism]]) actually helped to give rise to modern [[capitalism]], as he asserted in his most famous and controversial work, '''''[https://books.google.com/books?id=fo9OIS7I0XAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=protestant+ethic+and+the+spirit+of+capitalism&lr=&ei=A337SbnbM5OCygSuiZ36Dw The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]'''''.

In The Protestant Ethic, Weber argues that capitalism arose in Europe in part because of how the [[belief]] in [[predestination]] was interpreted by everyday [[English]] [[Puritans]]. Puritan [[theology]] was based on the Calvinist notion that not everyone would be saved; there was only a specific number of the elect who would avoid damnation, and this was based sheerly on God's predetermined will and not on any action you could perform in this life. Official doctrine held that one could not ever really know whether one was among the elect.

In The Protestant Ethic, Weber argues that capitalism arose in Europe in part because of how the [[belief]] in [[predestination]] was interpreted by everyday [[English]] [[Puritans]]. Puritan [[theology]] was based on the Calvinist notion that not everyone would be saved; there was only a specific number of the elect who would avoid damnation, and this was based sheerly on God's predetermined will and not on any action you could perform in this life. Official doctrine held that one could not ever really know whether one was among the elect.

Practically, Weber noted, this was difficult psychologically: people were (understandably) anxious to know whether they would be eternally damned or not. Thus Puritan leaders began assuring members that if they began doing well financially in their businesses, this would be one unofficial sign they had God's approval and were among the saved – but only if they used the fruits of their labor well. This led to the development of rational bookkeeping and the calculated pursuit of [[financial]] success beyond what one needed simply to live – and this is the "spirit of capitalism." Over [[time]], the habits associated with the spirit of capitalism lost their religious significance, and rational pursuit of [[profit]] became its own aim.

Practically, Weber noted, this was difficult psychologically: people were (understandably) anxious to know whether they would be eternally damned or not. Thus Puritan leaders began assuring members that if they began doing well financially in their businesses, this would be one unofficial sign they had God's approval and were among the saved – but only if they used the fruits of their labor well. This led to the development of rational bookkeeping and the calculated pursuit of [[finance|financial]] success beyond what one needed simply to live – and this is the "spirit of capitalism." Over [[time]], the habits associated with the spirit of capitalism lost their religious significance, and rational pursuit of [[profit]] became its own aim.

The Protestant Ethic thesis has been much critiqued, refined, and disputed, but is still a lively source of theoretical debate in sociology of religion. Weber also did considerable work in world religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism.

The Protestant Ethic thesis has been much critiqued, refined, and disputed, but is still a lively source of theoretical debate in sociology of religion. Weber also did considerable work in world religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism.

==References==

==References==

* Kevin J. Christiano, et al., (2nd ed., 2008), Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9780742561113

* Kevin J. Christiano, et al., (2nd ed., 2008), Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9780742561113

==External links==

==External links==

*[http://www.sociologyofreligion.com/ Association for the Sociology of Religion (ASR)]

*[https://www.sociologyofreligion.com/ Association for the Sociology of Religion (ASR)]

*[http://www.sssrweb.org/ Society for the Scientific Study of Religion]

*[https://www.sssrweb.org/ Society for the Scientific Study of Religion]

*[http://www.portcult.com/OPS_02.htm Sociological work of Moisés Espírito Santo]  

*[https://www.portcult.com/OPS_02.htm Sociological work of Moisés Espírito Santo]  

*[http://www.thearda.com Association of Religion Data Archives]

*[https://www.thearda.com Association of Religion Data Archives]

*[http://hirr.hartsem.edu/sociology/sociology.html Sociology of Religion resources on Hartford Institute for Religion Research website]

*[https://hirr.hartsem.edu/sociology/sociology.html Sociology of Religion resources on Hartford Institute for Religion Research website]

*[http://csrs.nd.edu/religionlinks.shtml Religion resources at [http://csrs.nd.edu/ Center for the Study of Religion and Society]

*[https://csrs.nd.edu/religionlinks.shtml Religion resources at [https://csrs.nd.edu/ Center for the Study of Religion and Society]

*[http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~jkh8x/soc203/paradigm.html Hadden: Religion and the Quest for Meaning and Order]

*[https://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~jkh8x/soc203/paradigm.html Hadden: Religion and the Quest for Meaning and Order]

*[http://www.holysmoke.org/sdhok/joining.htm A test of the Stark-Bainbridge theory of affiliation with cults and sects]

*[https://www.holysmoke.org/sdhok/joining.htm A test of the Stark-Bainbridge theory of affiliation with cults and sects]

*[http://www.faculty.rsu.edu/~felwell/Theorists/Weber/Whome.htm Verstehen: Max Weber's Homepage]

*[https://www.faculty.rsu.edu/~felwell/Theorists/Weber/Whome.htm Verstehen: Max Weber's Homepage]

[[Category: Sociology]]

[[Category: Sociology]]

[[Category: Religion]]

[[Category: Religion]]