AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION: CLASSICAL AND CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES (SECOND EDITION)

What are religion and nonreligion? How do fundamentalism and religious radicalization emerge and grow? How do social class, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and other factors affect religious beliefs, practices, and organizations? Is religion a fundamental driving force or do political leaders use religion for their own purposes? In exploring these pertinent questions, An Introduction to the Sociology of Religion provides an overview of sociological theories of contemporary religious life.

Theoretical discussion is accompanied by presentations of empirical research from several religious traditions in many parts of the world. The sociology of religion is linked closely to developments in general sociology.