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17.3 Sociological Perspectives on Religion

Learning objectives.

  • Summarize the major functions of religion.
  • Explain the views of religion held by the conflict perspective.
  • Explain the views of religion held by the symbolic interactionist perspective.

Sociological perspectives on religion aim to understand the functions religion serves, the inequality and other problems it can reinforce and perpetuate, and the role it plays in our daily lives (Emerson, Monahan, & Mirola, 2011). Table 17.1 “Theory Snapshot” summarizes what these perspectives say.

Table 17.1 Theory Snapshot

The Functions of Religion

Much of the work of Émile Durkheim stressed the functions that religion serves for society regardless of how it is practiced or of what specific religious beliefs a society favors. Durkheim’s insights continue to influence sociological thinking today on the functions of religion.

First, religion gives meaning and purpose to life . Many things in life are difficult to understand. That was certainly true, as we have seen, in prehistoric times, but even in today’s highly scientific age, much of life and death remains a mystery, and religious faith and belief help many people make sense of the things science cannot tell us.

Second, religion reinforces social unity and stability . This was one of Durkheim’s most important insights. Religion strengthens social stability in at least two ways. First, it gives people a common set of beliefs and thus is an important agent of socialization (see Chapter 4 “Socialization” ). Second, the communal practice of religion, as in houses of worship, brings people together physically, facilitates their communication and other social interaction, and thus strengthens their social bonds.

Members of a church listening to a man play guitar and sing. A singular man raises his hand in praise

The communal practice of religion in a house of worship brings people together and allows them to interact and communicate. In this way religion helps reinforce social unity and stability. This function of religion was one of Émile Durkheim’s most important insights.

Erin Rempel – Worship – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

A third function of religion is related to the one just discussed. Religion is an agent of social control and thus strengthens social order . Religion teaches people moral behavior and thus helps them learn how to be good members of society. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the Ten Commandments are perhaps the most famous set of rules for moral behavior.

A fourth function of religion is greater psychological and physical well-being . Religious faith and practice can enhance psychological well-being by being a source of comfort to people in times of distress and by enhancing their social interaction with others in places of worship. Many studies find that people of all ages, not just the elderly, are happier and more satisfied with their lives if they are religious. Religiosity also apparently promotes better physical health, and some studies even find that religious people tend to live longer than those who are not religious (Moberg, 2008). We return to this function later.

A final function of religion is that it may motivate people to work for positive social change . Religion played a central role in the development of the Southern civil rights movement a few decades ago. Religious beliefs motivated Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights activists to risk their lives to desegregate the South. Black churches in the South also served as settings in which the civil rights movement held meetings, recruited new members, and raised money (Morris, 1984).

Religion, Inequality, and Conflict

Religion has all of these benefits, but, according to conflict theory, it can also reinforce and promote social inequality and social conflict. This view is partly inspired by the work of Karl Marx, who said that religion was the “opiate of the masses” (Marx, 1964). By this he meant that religion, like a drug, makes people happy with their existing conditions. Marx repeatedly stressed that workers needed to rise up and overthrow the bourgeoisie. To do so, he said, they needed first to recognize that their poverty stemmed from their oppression by the bourgeoisie. But people who are religious, he said, tend to view their poverty in religious terms. They think it is God’s will that they are poor, either because he is testing their faith in him or because they have violated his rules. Many people believe that if they endure their suffering, they will be rewarded in the afterlife. Their religious views lead them not to blame the capitalist class for their poverty and thus not to revolt. For these reasons, said Marx, religion leads the poor to accept their fate and helps maintain the existing system of social inequality.

As Chapter 11 “Gender and Gender Inequality” discussed, religion also promotes gender inequality by presenting negative stereotypes about women and by reinforcing traditional views about their subordination to men (Klassen, 2009). A declaration a decade ago by the Southern Baptist Convention that a wife should “submit herself graciously” to her husband’s leadership reflected traditional religious belief (Gundy-Volf, 1998).

As the Puritans’ persecution of non-Puritans illustrates, religion can also promote social conflict, and the history of the world shows that individual people and whole communities and nations are quite ready to persecute, kill, and go to war over religious differences. We see this today and in the recent past in central Europe, the Middle East, and Northern Ireland. Jews and other religious groups have been persecuted and killed since ancient times. Religion can be the source of social unity and cohesion, but over the centuries it also has led to persecution, torture, and wanton bloodshed.

News reports going back since the 1990s indicate a final problem that religion can cause, and that is sexual abuse, at least in the Catholic Church. As you undoubtedly have heard, an unknown number of children were sexually abused by Catholic priests and deacons in the United States, Canada, and many other nations going back at least to the 1960s. There is much evidence that the Church hierarchy did little or nothing to stop the abuse or to sanction the offenders who were committing it, and that they did not report it to law enforcement agencies. Various divisions of the Church have paid tens of millions of dollars to settle lawsuits. The numbers of priests, deacons, and children involved will almost certainly never be known, but it is estimated that at least 4,400 priests and deacons in the United States, or about 4% of all such officials, have been accused of sexual abuse, although fewer than 2,000 had the allegations against them proven (Terry & Smith, 2006). Given these estimates, the number of children who were abused probably runs into the thousands.

Symbolic Interactionism and Religion

While functional and conflict theories look at the macro aspects of religion and society, symbolic interactionism looks at the micro aspects. It examines the role that religion plays in our daily lives and the ways in which we interpret religious experiences. For example, it emphasizes that beliefs and practices are not sacred unless people regard them as such. Once we regard them as sacred, they take on special significance and give meaning to our lives. Symbolic interactionists study the ways in which people practice their faith and interact in houses of worship and other religious settings, and they study how and why religious faith and practice have positive consequences for individual psychological and physical well-being.

Three signs of religion, a cross, the star of David, and the crescent

The cross, Star of David, and the crescent and star are symbols of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, respectively. The symbolic interactionist perspective emphasizes the ways in which individuals interpret their religious experiences and religious symbols.

zeevveez – Star of David Coexistence- 2 – CC BY 2.0.

Religious symbols indicate the value of the symbolic interactionist approach. A crescent moon and a star are just two shapes in the sky, but together they constitute the international symbol of Islam. A cross is merely two lines or bars in the shape of a “t,” but to tens of millions of Christians it is a symbol with deeply religious significance. A Star of David consists of two superimposed triangles in the shape of a six-pointed star, but to Jews around the world it is a sign of their religious faith and a reminder of their history of persecution.

Religious rituals and ceremonies also illustrate the symbolic interactionist approach. They can be deeply intense and can involve crying, laughing, screaming, trancelike conditions, a feeling of oneness with those around you, and other emotional and psychological states. For many people they can be transformative experiences, while for others they are not transformative but are deeply moving nonetheless.

Key Takeaways

  • Religion ideally serves several functions. It gives meaning and purpose to life, reinforces social unity and stability, serves as an agent of social control, promotes psychological and physical well-being, and may motivate people to work for positive social change.
  • On the other hand, religion may help keep poor people happy with their lot in life, promote traditional views about gender roles, and engender intolerance toward people whose religious faith differs from one’s own.
  • The symbolic interactionist perspective emphasizes how religion affects the daily lives of individuals and how they interpret their religious experiences.

For Your Review

  • Of the several functions of religion that were discussed, which function do you think is the most important? Why?
  • Which of the three theoretical perspectives on religion makes the most sense to you? Explain your choice.

Emerson, M. O., Monahan, S. C., & Mirola, W. A. (2011). Religion matters: What sociology teaches us about religion in our world . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Gundy-Volf, J. (1998, September–October). Neither biblical nor just: Southern Baptists and the subordination of women. Sojourners , 12–13.

Klassen, P. (Ed.). (2009). Women and religion . New York, NY: Routledge.

Marx, K. (1964). Karl Marx: Selected writings in sociology and social philosophy (T. B. Bottomore, Trans.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Moberg, D. O. (2008). Spirituality and aging: Research and implications. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, 20 , 95–134.

Morris, A. (1984). The origins of the civil rights movement: Black communities organizing for change . New York, NY: Free Press.

Terry, K., & Smith, M. L. (2006). The nature and scope of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests and deacons in the United States: Supplementary data analysis . Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Sociology Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion

The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion

Peter B. Clarke is Professor Emeritus of the History and Sociology of Religion at King’s College, London, and professorial member of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oxford.

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The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion draws on the expertise of an international team of scholars, providing both an entry point into the sociological study and understanding of religion and an in-depth survey into its changing forms and content in the contemporary world. The role and impact of religion and spirituality on the politics, culture, education, and health of the modern world is rigorously discussed and debated. The study of the sociology of religion forges interdisciplinary links to explore aspects of continuity and change in the contemporary interface between society and religion. Using a combination of theoretical, methodological, and content-led approaches, the fifty-seven contributors collectively emphasise the complex relationships between religion and aspects of life from scientific research to law, ecology to art, music to cognitive science, crime to institutional health care and more. The developing character of religion, irreligion, and atheism, and the impact of religious diversity on social cohesion, are explored. An overview of current scholarship in the field is provided in each themed article, with an emphasis on encouraging new thinking and reflection on familiar and emergent themes to stimulate further debate and scholarship.

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Article contents

Religion, culture, and communication.

  • Stephen M. Croucher , Stephen M. Croucher School of Communication, Journalism, and Marketing, Massey Business School, Massey University
  • Cheng Zeng , Cheng Zeng Department of Communication, University of Jyväskylä
  • Diyako Rahmani Diyako Rahmani Department of Communication, University of Jyväskylä
  •  and  Mélodine Sommier Mélodine Sommier School of History, Culture, and Communication, Eramus University
  • https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.166
  • Published online: 25 January 2017

Religion is an essential element of the human condition. Hundreds of studies have examined how religious beliefs mold an individual’s sociology and psychology. In particular, research has explored how an individual’s religion (religious beliefs, religious denomination, strength of religious devotion, etc.) is linked to their cultural beliefs and background. While some researchers have asserted that religion is an essential part of an individual’s culture, other researchers have focused more on how religion is a culture in itself. The key difference is how researchers conceptualize and operationalize both of these terms. Moreover, the influence of communication in how individuals and communities understand, conceptualize, and pass on religious and cultural beliefs and practices is integral to understanding exactly what religion and culture are.

It is through exploring the relationships among religion, culture, and communication that we can best understand how they shape the world in which we live and have shaped the communication discipline itself. Furthermore, as we grapple with these relationships and terms, we can look to the future and realize that the study of religion, culture, and communication is vast and open to expansion. Researchers are beginning to explore the influence of mediation on religion and culture, how our globalized world affects the communication of religions and cultures, and how interreligious communication is misunderstood; and researchers are recognizing the need to extend studies into non-Christian religious cultures.

  • communication
  • intercultural communication

Intricate Relationships among Religion, Communication, and Culture

Compiling an entry on the relationships among religion, culture, and communication is not an easy task. There is not one accepted definition for any of these three terms, and research suggests that the connections among these concepts are complex, to say the least. Thus, this article attempts to synthesize the various approaches to these three terms and integrate them. In such an endeavor, it is impossible to discuss all philosophical and paradigmatic debates or include all disciplines.

It is difficult to define religion from one perspective and with one encompassing definition. “Religion” is often defined as the belief in or the worship of a god or gods. Geertz ( 1973 ) defined a religion as

(1) a system which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by (3) formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic. (p. 90)

It is essential to recognize that religion cannot be understood apart from the world in which it takes place (Marx & Engels, 1975 ). To better understand how religion relates to and affects culture and communication, we should first explore key definitions, philosophies, and perspectives that have informed how we currently look at religion. In particular, the influences of Karl Marx, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, and Georg Simmel are discussed to further understand the complexity of religion.

Karl Marx ( 1818–1883 ) saw religion as descriptive and evaluative. First, from a descriptive point of view, Marx believed that social and economic situations shape how we form and regard religions and what is religious. For Marx, the fact that people tend to turn to religion more when they are facing economic hardships or that the same religious denomination is practiced differently in different communities would seem perfectly logical. Second, Marx saw religion as a form of alienation (Marx & Engels, 1975 ). For Marx, the notion that the Catholic Church, for example, had the ability or right to excommunicate an individual, and thus essentially exclude them from the spiritual community, was a classic example of exploitation and domination. Such alienation and exploitation was later echoed in the works of Friedrich Nietzsche ( 1844–1900 ), who viewed organized religion as society and culture controlling man (Nietzsche, 1996 ).

Building on Marxist thinking, Weber ( 1864–1920 ) stressed the multicausality of religion. Weber ( 1963 ) emphasized three arguments regarding religion and society: (1) how a religion relates to a society is contingent (it varies); (2) the relationship between religion and society can only be examined in its cultural and historical context; and (3) the relationship between society and religion is slowly eroding. Weber’s arguments can be applied to Catholicism in Europe. Until the Protestant Reformation of the 15th and 16th centuries, Catholicism was the dominant religious ideology on the European continent. However, since the Reformation, Europe has increasingly become more Protestant and less Catholic. To fully grasp why many Europeans gravitate toward Protestantism and not Catholicism, we must consider the historical and cultural reasons: the Reformation, economics, immigration, politics, etc., that have all led to the majority of Europeans identifying as Protestant (Davie, 2008 ). Finally, even though the majority of Europeans identify as Protestant, secularism (separation of church and state) is becoming more prominent in Europe. In nations like France, laws are in place that officially separate the church and state, while in Northern Europe, church attendance is low, and many Europeans who identify as Protestant have very low religiosity (strength of religious devotion), focusing instead on being secularly religious individuals. From a Weberian point of view, the links among religion, history, and culture in Europe explain the decline of Catholicism, the rise of Protestantism, and now the rise of secularism.

Emile Durkheim ( 1858–1917 ) focused more on how religion performs a necessary function; it brings people and society together. Durkheim ( 1976 ) thus defined a religion as

a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things which are set apart and forbidden—beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them. (p. 47)

From this perspective, religion and culture are inseparable, as beliefs and practices are uniquely cultural. For example, religious rituals (one type of practice) unite believers in a religion and separate nonbelievers. The act of communion, or the sharing of the Eucharist by partaking in consecrated bread and wine, is practiced by most Christian denominations. However, the frequency of communion differs extensively, and the ritual is practiced differently based on historical and theological differences among denominations.

Georg Simmel ( 1858–1918 ) focused more on the fluidity and permanence of religion and religious life. Simmel ( 1950 ) believed that religious and cultural beliefs develop from one another. Moreover, he asserted that religiosity is an essential element to understand when examining religious institutions and religion. While individuals may claim to be part of a religious group, Simmel asserted that it was important to consider just how religious the individuals were. In much of Europe, religiosity is low: Germany 34%, Sweden 19%, Denmark 42%, the United Kingdom 30%, the Czech Republic 23%, and The Netherlands 26%, while religiosity is relatively higher in the United States (56%), which is now considered the most religious industrialized nation in the world ( Telegraph Online , 2015 ). The decline of religiosity in parts of Europe and its rise in the U.S. is linked to various cultural, historical, and communicative developments that will be further discussed.

Combining Simmel’s ( 1950 ) notion of religion with Geertz’s ( 1973 ) concept of religion and a more basic definition (belief in or the worship of a god or gods through rituals), it is clear that the relationship between religion and culture is integral and symbiotic. As Clark and Hoover ( 1997 ) noted, “culture and religion are inseparable” and “religion is an important consideration in theories of culture and society” (p. 17).

Outside of the Western/Christian perception of religion, Buddhist scholars such as Nagarajuna present a relativist framework to understand concepts like time and causality. This framework is distinct from the more Western way of thinking, in that notions of present, past, and future are perceived to be chronologically distorted, and the relationship between cause and effect is paradoxical (Wimal, 2007 ). Nagarajuna’s philosophy provides Buddhism with a relativist, non-solid dependent, and non-static understanding of reality (Kohl, 2007 ). Mulla Sadra’s philosophy explored the metaphysical relationship between the created universe and its singular creator. In his philosophy, existence takes precedence over essence, and any existing object reflects a part of the creator. Therefore, every devoted person is obliged to know themselves as the first step to knowing the creator, which is the ultimate reason for existence. This Eastern perception of religion is similar to that of Nagarajuna and Buddhism, as they both include the paradoxical elements that are not easily explained by the rationality of Western philosophy. For example, the god, as Mulla Sadra defines it, is beyond definition, description, and delamination, yet it is absolutely simple and unique (Burrell, 2013 ).

How researchers define and study culture varies extensively. For example, Hall ( 1989 ) defined culture as “a series of situational models for behavior and thought” (p. 13). Geertz ( 1973 ), building on the work of Kluckhohn ( 1949 ), defined culture in terms of 11 different aspects:

(1) the total way of life of a people; (2) the social legacy the individual acquires from his group; (3) a way of thinking, feeling, and believing; (4) an abstraction from behavior; (5) a theory on the part of the anthropologist about the way in which a group of people in fact behave; (6) a storehouse of pooled learning; (7) a set of standardized orientations to recurrent problems; (8) learned behavior; (9) a mechanism for the normative regulation of behavior; (10) a set of techniques for adjusting both to the external environment and to other men; (11) a precipitate of history. (Geertz, 1973 , p. 5)

Research on culture is divided between an essentialist camp and a constructivist camp. The essentialist view regards culture as a concrete and fixed system of symbols and meanings (Holiday, 1999 ). An essentialist approach is most prevalent in linguistic studies, in which national culture is closely linked to national language. Regarding culture as a fluid concept, constructionist views of culture focus on how it is performed and negotiated by individuals (Piller, 2011 ). In this sense, “culture” is a verb rather than a noun. In principle, a non-essentialist approach rejects predefined national cultures and uses culture as a tool to interpret social behavior in certain contexts.

Different approaches to culture influence significantly how it is incorporated into communication studies. Cultural communication views communication as a resource for individuals to produce and regulate culture (Philipsen, 2002 ). Constructivists tend to perceive culture as a part of the communication process (Applegate & Sypher, 1988 ). Cross-cultural communication typically uses culture as a national boundary. Hofstede ( 1991 ) is probably the most popular scholar in this line of research. Culture is thus treated as a theoretical construct to explain communication variations across cultures. This is also evident in intercultural communication studies, which focus on misunderstandings between individuals from different cultures.

Religion, Community, and Culture

There is an interplay among religion, community, and culture. Community is essentially formed by a group of people who share common activities or beliefs based on their mutual affect, loyalty, and personal concerns. Participation in religious institutions is one of the most dominant community engagements worldwide. Religious institutions are widely known for creating a sense of community by offering various material and social supports for individual followers. In addition, the role that religious organizations play in communal conflicts is also crucial. As religion deals with the ultimate matters of life, the differences among different religious beliefs are virtually impossible to settle. Although a direct causal relationship between religion and violence is not well supported, religion is, nevertheless, commonly accepted as a potential escalating factor in conflicts. Currently, religious conflicts are on the rise, and they are typically more violent, long-lasting, and difficult to resolve. In such cases, local religious organizations, places facilitating collective actions in the community, are extremely vital, as they can either preach peace or stir up hatred and violence. The peace impact of local religious institutions has been largely witnessed in India and Indonesia where conflicts are solved at the local level before developing into communal violence (De Juan, Pierskalla, & Vüllers, 2015 ).

While religion affects cultures (Beckford & Demerath, 2007 ), it itself is also affected by culture, as religion is an essential layer of culture. For example, the growth of individualism in the latter half of the 20th century has been coincident with the decline in the authority of Judeo-Christian institutions and the emergence of “parachurches” and more personal forms of prayer (Hoover & Lundby, 1997 ). However, this decline in the authority of the religious institutions in modernized society has not reduced the important role of religion and spirituality as one of the main sources of calm when facing painful experiences such as death, suffering, and loss.

When cultural specifications, such as individualism and collectivism, have been attributed to religion, the proposed definitions and functions of religion overlap with definitions of culture. For example, researchers often combine religious identification (Jewish, Christian, Muslim, etc.) with cultural dimensions (Hofstede, 1991 ) like individualism/collectivism to understand and compare cultural differences. Such combinations for comparison and analytical purposes demonstrate how religion and religious identification in particular are often relegated to a micro-level variable, when in fact the true relationship between an individual’s religion and culture is inseparable.

Religion as Part of Culture in Communication Studies

Religion as a part of culture has been linked to numerous communication traits and behaviors. Specifically, religion has been linked with media use and preferences (e.g., Stout & Buddenbaum, 1996 ), health/medical decisions and communication about health-related issues (Croucher & Harris, 2012 ), interpersonal communication (e.g., Croucher, Faulkner, Oommen, & Long, 2012b ), organizational behaviors (e.g., Garner & Wargo, 2009 ), and intercultural communication traits and behaviors (e.g., Croucher, Braziunaite, & Oommen, 2012a ). In media and religion scholarship, researchers have shown how religion as a cultural variable has powerful effects on media use, preferences, and gratifications. The research linking media and religion is vast (Stout & Buddenbaum, 1996 ). This body of research has shown how “religious worldviews are created and sustained in ongoing social processes in which information is shared” (Stout & Buddenbaum, 1996 , pp. 7–8). For example, religious Christians are more likely to read newspapers, while religious individuals are less likely to have a favorable opinion of the internet (Croucher & Harris, 2012 ), and religious individuals (who typically attend religious services and are thus integrated into a religious community) are more likely to read media produced by the religious community (Davie, 2008 ).

Research into health/medical decisions and communication about health-related issues is also robust. Research shows how religion, specifically religiosity, promotes healthier living and better decision-making regarding health and wellbeing (Harris & Worley, 2012 ). For example, a religious (or spiritual) approach to cancer treatment can be more effective than a secular approach (Croucher & Harris, 2012 ), religious attendance promotes healthier living, and people with HIV/AIDS often turn to religion for comfort as well. These studies suggest the significance of religion in health communication and in our health.

Research specifically examining the links between religion and interpersonal communication is not as vast as the research into media, health, and religion. However, this slowly growing body of research has explored areas such as rituals, self-disclosure (Croucher et al., 2012b ), and family dynamics (Davie, 2008 ), to name a few.

The role of religion in organizations is well studied. Overall, researchers have shown how religious identification and religiosity influence an individual’s organizational behavior. For example, research has shown that an individual’s religious identification affects levels of organizational dissent (Croucher et al., 2012a ). Garner and Wargo ( 2009 ) further showed that organizational dissent functions differently in churches than in nonreligious organizations. Kennedy and Lawton ( 1998 ) explored the relationships between religious beliefs and perceptions about business/corporate ethics and found that individuals with stronger religious beliefs have stricter ethical beliefs.

Researchers are increasingly looking at the relationships between religion and intercultural communication. Researchers have explored how religion affects numerous communication traits and behaviors and have shown how religious communities perceive and enact religious beliefs. Antony ( 2010 ), for example, analyzed the bindi in India and how the interplay between religion and culture affects people’s acceptance of it. Karniel and Lavie-Dinur ( 2011 ) showed how religion and culture influence how Palestinian Arabs are represented on Israeli television. Collectively, the intercultural work examining religion demonstrates the increasing importance of the intersection between religion and culture in communication studies.

Collectively, communication studies discourse about religion has focused on how religion is an integral part of an individual’s culture. Croucher et al. ( 2016 ), in a content analysis of communication journal coverage of religion and spirituality from 2002 to 2012 , argued that the discourse largely focuses on religion as a cultural variable by identifying religious groups as variables for comparative analysis, exploring “religious” or “spiritual” as adjectives to describe entities (religious organizations), and analyzing the relationships between religious groups in different contexts. Croucher and Harris ( 2012 ) asserted that the discourse about religion, culture, and communication is still in its infancy, though it continues to grow at a steady pace.

Future Lines of Inquiry

Research into the links among religion, culture, and communication has shown the vast complexities of these terms. With this in mind, there are various directions for future research/exploration that researchers could take to expand and benefit our practical understanding of these concepts and how they relate to one another. Work should continue to define these terms with a particular emphasis on mediation, closely consider these terms in a global context, focus on how intergroup dynamics influence this relationship, and expand research into non-Christian religious cultures.

Additional definitional work still needs to be done to clarify exactly what is meant by “religion,” “culture,” and “communication.” Our understanding of these terms and relationships can be further enhanced by analyzing how forms of mass communication mediate each other. Martin-Barbero ( 1993 ) asserted that there should be a shift from media to mediations as multiple opposing forces meet in communication. He defined mediation as “the articulations between communication practices and social movements and the articulation of different tempos of development with the plurality of cultural matrices” (p. 187). Religions have relied on mediations through various media to communicate their messages (oral stories, print media, radio, television, internet, etc.). These media share religious messages, shape the messages and religious communities, and are constantly changing. What we find is that, as media sophistication develops, a culture’s understandings of mediated messages changes (Martin-Barbero, 1993 ). Thus, the very meanings of religion, culture, and communication are transitioning as societies morph into more digitally mediated societies. Research should continue to explore the effects of digital mediation on our conceptualizations of religion, culture, and communication.

Closely linked to mediation is the need to continue extending our focus on the influence of globalization on religion, culture, and communication. It is essential to study the relationships among culture, religion, and communication in the context of globalization. In addition to trading goods and services, people are increasingly sharing ideas, values, and beliefs in the modern world. Thus, globalization not only leads to technological and socioeconomic changes, but also shapes individuals’ ways of communicating and their perceptions and beliefs about religion and culture. While religion represents an old way of life, globalization challenges traditional meaning systems and is often perceived as a threat to religion. For instance, Marx and Weber both asserted that modernization was incompatible with tradition. But, in contrast, globalization could facilitate religious freedom by spreading the idea of freedom worldwide. Thus, future work needs to consider the influence of globalization to fully grasp the interrelationships among religion, culture, and communication in the world.

A review of the present definitions of religion in communication research reveals that communication scholars approach religion as a holistic, total, and unique institution or notion, studied from the viewpoint of different communication fields such as health, intercultural, interpersonal, organizational communication, and so on. However, this approach to communication undermines the function of a religion as a culture and also does not consider the possible differences between religious cultures. For example, religious cultures differ in their levels of individualism and collectivism. There are also differences in how religious cultures interact to compete for more followers and territory (Klock, Novoa, & Mogaddam, 2010 ). Thus, localization is one area of further research for religion communication studies. This line of study best fits in the domain of intergroup communication. Such an approach will provide researchers with the opportunity to think about the roles that interreligious communication can play in areas such as peacemaking processes (Klock et al., 2010 ).

Academic discourse about religion has focused largely on Christian denominations. In a content analysis of communication journal discourse on religion and spirituality, Croucher et al. ( 2016 ) found that the terms “Christian” or “Christianity” appeared in 9.56% of all articles, and combined with other Christian denominations (Catholicism, Evangelism, Baptist, Protestantism, and Mormonism, for example), appeared in 18.41% of all articles. Other religious cultures (denominations) made up a relatively small part of the overall academic discourse: Islam appeared in 6.8%, Judaism in 4.27%, and Hinduism in only 0.96%. Despite the presence of various faiths in the data, the dominance of Christianity and its various denominations is incontestable. Having religions unevenly represented in the academic discourse is problematic. This highly unbalanced representation presents a biased picture of religious practices. It also represents one faith as being the dominant faith and others as being minority religions in all contexts.

Ultimately, the present overview, with its focus on religion, culture, and communication points to the undeniable connections among these concepts. Religion and culture are essential elements of humanity, and it is through communication, that these elements of humanity are mediated. Whether exploring these terms in health, interpersonal, intercultural, intergroup, mass, or other communication contexts, it is evident that understanding the intersection(s) among religion, culture, and communication offers vast opportunities for researchers and practitioners.

Further Reading

The references to this article provide various examples of scholarship on religion, culture, and communication. The following list includes some critical pieces of literature that one should consider reading if interested in studying the relationships among religion, culture, and communication.

  • Allport, G. W. (1950). Individual and his religion: A psychological interpretation . New York: Macmillan.
  • Campbell, H. A. (2010). When religion meets new media . New York: Routledge.
  • Cheong, P. H. , Fischer-Nielson, P. , Gelfgren, S. , & Ess, C. (Eds.). (2012). Digital religion, social media and culture: Perspectives, practices and futures . New York: Peter Lang.
  • Cohen, A. B. , & Hill, P. C. (2007). Religion as culture: Religious individualism and collectivism among American Catholics, Jews, and Protestants . Journal of Personality , 75 , 709–742.
  • Coomaraswamy, A. K. (2015). Hinduism and buddhism . New Delhi: Munshiram Monoharlal Publishers.
  • Coomaraswamy, A. K. (2015). A new approach to the Vedas: Essays in translation and exegesis . Philadelphia: Coronet Books.
  • Harris, T. M. , Parrott, R. , & Dorgan, K. A. (2004). Talking about human genetics within religious frameworks . Health Communication , 16 , 105–116.
  • Hitchens, C. (2007). God is not great . New York: Hachette.
  • Hoover, S. M. (2006). Religion in the media age (media, religion and culture) . New York: Routledge.
  • Lundby, K. , & Hoover, S. M. (1997). Summary remarks: Mediated religion. In S. M. Hoover & K. Lundby (Eds.), Rethinking media, religion, and culture (pp. 298–309). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  • Mahan, J. H. (2014). Media, religion and culture: An introduction . New York: Routledge.
  • Parrott, R. (2004). “Collective amnesia”: The absence of religious faith and spirituality in health communication research and practice . Journal of Health Communication , 16 , 1–5.
  • Russell, B. (1957). Why I am not a Christian . New York: Touchstone.
  • Sarwar, G. (2001). Islam: Beliefs and teachings (5th ed.). Tigard, OR: Muslim Educational Trust.
  • Stout, D. A. (2011). Media and religion: Foundations of an emerging field . New York: Routledge.
  • Antony, M. G. (2010). On the spot: Seeking acceptance and expressing resistance through the Bindi . Journal of International and Intercultural Communication , 3 , 346–368.
  • Beckford, J. A. , & Demerath, N. J. (Eds.). (2007). The SAGE handbook of the sociology of religion . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  • Burrell, D. B. (2013). The triumph of mercy: Philosophy and scripture in Mulla Sadra—By Mohammed Rustom . Modern Theology , 29 , 413–416.
  • Clark, A. S. , & Hoover, S. M. (1997). At the intersection of media, culture, and religion. In S. M. Hoover , & K. Lundby (Eds.), Rethinking media, religion, and culture (pp. 15–36). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  • Croucher, S. M. , Braziunaite, R. , & Oommen, D. (2012a). The effects of religiousness and religious identification on organizational dissent. In S. M. Croucher , & T. M. Harris (Eds.), Religion and communication: An anthology of extensions in theory, research, and method (pp. 69–79). New York: Peter Lang.
  • Croucher, S. M. , Faulkner , Oommen, D. , & Long, B. (2012b). Demographic and religious differences in the dimensions of self-disclosure among Hindus and Muslims in India . Journal of Intercultural Communication Research , 39 , 29–48.
  • Croucher, S. M. , & Harris, T. M. (Eds.). (2012). Religion and communication: An anthology of extensions in theory, research, & method . New York: Peter Lang.
  • Croucher, S. M. , Sommier, M. , Kuchma, A. , & Melnychenko, V. (2016). A content analysis of the discourses of “religion” and “spirituality” in communication journals: 2002–2012. Journal of Communication and Religion , 38 , 42–79.
  • Davie, G. (2008). The sociology of religion . Los Angeles: SAGE.
  • De Juan, A. , Pierskalla, J. H. , & Vüllers, J. (2015). The pacifying effects of local religious institutions: An analysis of communal violence in Indonesia . Political Research Quarterly , 68 , 211–224.
  • Durkheim, E. (1976). The elementary forms of religious life . London: Harper Collins.
  • Garner, J. T. , & Wargo, M. (2009). Feedback from the pew: A dual-perspective exploration of organizational dissent in churches. Journal of Communication & Religion , 32 , 375–400.
  • Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures: Selected essays by Clifford Geertz . New York: Basic Books.
  • Hall, E. T. (1989). Beyond culture . New York: Anchor Books.
  • Harris, T. M. , & Worley, T. R. (2012). Deconstructing lay epistemologies of religion within health communication research. In S. M. Croucher , & T. M. Harris (Eds.), Religion & communication: An anthology of extensions in theory, research, and method (pp. 119–136). New York: Peter Lang.
  • Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind . London: McGraw-Hill.
  • Holiday, A. (1999). Small culture . Applied Linguistics , 20 , 237–264.
  • Hoover, S. M. , & Lundby, K. (1997). Introduction. In S. M. Hoover & K. Lundby (Eds.), Rethinking media, religion, and culture (pp. 3–14). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  • Karniel, Y. , & Lavie-Dinur, A. (2011). Entertainment and stereotype: Representation of the Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel in reality shows on Israeli television . Journal of Intercultural Communication Research , 40 , 65–88.
  • Kennedy, E. J. , & Lawton, L. (1998). Religiousness and business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics , 17 , 175–180.
  • Klock, J. , Novoa, C. , & Mogaddam, F. M. (2010). Communication across religions. In H. Giles , S. Reid , & J. Harwood (Eds.), The dynamics of intergroup communication (pp. 77–88). New York: Peter Lang
  • Kluckhohn, C. (1949). Mirror for man: The relation of anthropology to modern life . Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
  • Kohl, C. T. (2007). Buddhism and quantum physics . Contemporary Buddhism , 8 , 69–82.
  • Mapped: These are the world’s most religious countries . (April 13, 2015). Telegraph Online .
  • Martin-Barbero, J. (1993). Communication, culture and hegemony: From the media to the mediations . London: SAGE.
  • Marx, K. , & Engels, F. (1975). Collected works . London: Lawrence and Wishart.
  • Nietzsche, F. (1996). Human, all too human: A book for free spirits . R. J. Hollingdale (Trans.). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
  • Piller, I. (2011). Intercultural communication: A critical introduction . Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
  • Philipsen, G. (2002). Cultural communication. In W. B. Gudykunst (Ed.), Cross-cultural and intercultural communication (pp. 35–51). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  • Simmel, G. (1950). The sociology of Georg Simmel . K. Wolff (Trans.). Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
  • Stout, D. A. , & Buddenbaum, J. M. (Eds.). (1996). Religion and mass media: Audiences and adaptations . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  • Weber, M. (1963). The sociology of religion . London: Methuen.
  • Wimal, D. (2007). Nagarjuna and modern communication theory. China Media Research , 3 , 34–41.
  • Applegate, J. , & Sypher, H. (1988). A constructivist theory of communication and culture. In Y. Y. Kim & W. B. Gudykunst (Eds.), Theories of intercultural communication (pp. 41-65). Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.

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An Introduction to the Sociology of Religion: Classical and Contemporary Perspectives. By I. Furseth and P. Repstad

Profile image of Slavica Jakelic

2007, Journal of the American Academy of Religion

With a noble goal to be accessible to an average undergraduate student, the introductory volumes to any field often end up being too basic in content and bland in conceptual framework. Staying on the level of fundamentals, most authors of such volumes reveal precious little of their own views about the theories, methods, and debates of the field they discuss. As a result, the reading of "Introductions to…" is usually a rather painful task for anyone, but particularly for the more educated reader.

Related Papers

David Yamane

This, the first issue of Sociology of Religion to appear under my editorship, has been a long time coming. I began preparing for my tenure as editor in the fall of 2004, shortly after I was appointed by the Association for the Sociology of Religion (ASR) council, and have been receiving manuscripts since September 2005.

research paper on sociology of religion

Juliette Galonnier

Since the Age of Enlightenment, scholars have been continuously predicting the demise of religion. Yet, religion is still thriving and vibrant in most contemporary societies. Not only has religion “survived” in the “modern” world, it has also undergone significant changes, revivals and adaptations. The objective of this course is to study religion sociologically, which means that we will not focus so much on religious texts and teachings but rather on the way individuals experience religion in their daily lives. The course is divided into three sections. The first section consists in a theoretical endeavor to define religion. The founding fathers of sociology, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber and Karl Marx, devoted considerable amounts of time to writing about religion. Following their lead, we will analyze religion as a socially constituted reality that in turn influences the social world. A significant part of the course will be dedicated to unpacking the very category of “religion:” What is religion? When do you know when you see it? What is the meaning of religion in people’s lives? The second section will provide methodological tools to study religion in a sociological perspective: students will be introduced to the ethnographic method in social sciences and will learn the art and craft of performing participant observation in religious settings. The third section will focus on empirical work describing contemporary manifestations of religion and how it intersects with class, race, gender, immigration, civic life, and the state.

Onuh Justus Izuchukwu

The New Blackwell Companion to the Sociology …

Andrew McKinnon

Provides an account of Marx and Weber's Sociology of Religion as the fountations for sociology of religion today.

Gerardo Marti

Religion will remain a vital arena of research among sociologists not only because religious dynamics are ubiquitous, but also—as revealed in essays in this special issue—because our research findings are so often distorted if religion is ignored. Noting the many ways scholars find their way to their research subjects, the future of published scholarship in the sociology of religion must depend less on faithful adherence to established concepts and debates, and more on welcoming and extending new questions and approaches to religion. Finally, editors and reviewers of developing and forthcoming scholarship should continue to affirm religion as a highly flexible arena of investigation, regardless of whether it fits a tight framing of whatever seems to constitute the “sociology of religion.”

Religion Compass

Warren S Goldstein

This article provides an overview of the sociological theory of religion- that is, the sociological theory that is used to guide the empirical research in the sociology of religion. Mainstream sociological theory of religion went through four distinct phases: 1) classical (Emile Durkheim and Max Weber) 2) the old paradigm 3) the new paradigm 4) the neo-secularization paradigm. The article concludes by calling for a critical perspective, which while prevalent in religious studies and the other subfields of sociology is absent from the sociological study of religion.

Muhammed Haron

Katja Rakow

Markus Altena Davidsen

This course gives an overview of the most important themes in the sociology of religion. The course falls in three parts: The first part of the course is concerned with theorising religion sociologically. We raise sociological questions at the level of the individual (e.g., why are people religious in the first place?; why are women more religious than men?), at the level of the nation-state (e.g., why are some countries more religious than others?; how and why do state-religion relations differ cross-culturally?), and at the level of religious communities (e.g., how are religious communities maintained socially?) The second part of the course is concerned with the profound changes that have taken place in the religious field across the world during the 20 th and 21 st centuries. We explore the secularisation thesis, i.e. the idea that religion (necessarily) loses power, prestige, and plausibility as a result of modernisation, and evaluate alternatives to this master narrative (e.g., the subjectivisation thesis and the return-of-religion thesis). We compare the religious field in Europe (ongoing secularisation) with the United States (continued high levels of religion) and China (religious revival despite Communist oppression) and try to explain the differences between these cases. We also explore the rise of new, late modern 'religiosity styles', such as fundamentalism and new age spirituality. The third part of the course looks at the relation between religion and other aspects of civil society. In particular, we will discuss religion education and religion in popular culture.

International Sociology Review of Books 26(5) 675–684

Eloisa Martin

In almost 700 pages, The New Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Religion attempts an all-encompassing approach to the study of religion in modern societies. This ambitious effort was edited by Bryan S Turner, an experienced scholar in the field, who also wrote the introduction and a concluding chapter. The book has an interdisciplinary focus and a historic-comparative viewpoint inspired by Weber. It is divided into 29 chapters, organized in seven well-defined sections and includes a very useful index at the end.

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215 Religion Research Paper Topics for College Students

religion research paper topics

Studying religion at a college or a university may be a challenging course for any student. This isn’t because religion is always a sensitive issue in society, it is because the study of religion is broad, and crafting religious topics for research papers around them may be further complex for students. This is why sociology of religion research topics and many others are here, all for your use. As students of a university or a college, it is essential to prepare religious topics for research papers in advance. There are many research paper topics on religion, and this is why the scope of religion remains consistently broad. They extend to the sociology of religion, research paper topics on society, argumentative essay topics, and lots more. All these will be examined in this article. Rather than comb through your books in search of inspiration for your next essay or research paper, you can easily choose a topic for your religious essay or paper from the following recommendations:

World Religion Research Paper Topics

If you want to broaden your scope as a university student to topics across religions of the world, there are religion discussion topics to consider. These topics are not just for discussion in classes, you can craft research around them. Consider:

  • The role of myths in shaping the world: Greek myths and their influence on the evolution of European religions
  • Modern History: The attitude of modern Europe on the history of their religion
  • The connection between religion and science in the medieval and modern world
  • The mystery in the books of Dan Brown is nothing but fiction: discuss how mystery shapes religious beliefs
  • Theocracy: an examination of theocratic states in contemporary society
  • The role of Christianity in the modern world
  • The myth surrounding the writing of the Bible
  • The concept of religion and patriarchy: examine two religions and how it oppresses women
  • People and religion in everyday life: how lifestyle and culture is influenced by religion
  • The modern society and the changes in the religious view from the medieval period
  • The interdependence of laws and religion is a contemporary thing: what is the role of law in religion and what is the role of religion in law?
  • What marked the shift from religion to humanism?
  • What do totemism and animalism denote?
  • Pre Colonial religion in Africa is savagery and barbaric: discuss
  • Cite three religions and express their views on the human soul
  • Hinduism influenced Indian culture in ways no religion has: discuss
  • Africans are more religious than Europeans who introduced Christian religion to them: discuss
  • Account for the evolution of Confucianism and how it shaped Chinese culture to date
  • Account for the concept of the history of evolution according to Science and according to a religion and how it influences the ideas of the religious soul
  • What is religious education and how can it promote diversity or unity?7
  • Workplace and religion: how religion is extended to all facets of life
  • The concept of fear in maintaining religious authorities: how authorities in religious places inspire fear for absolute devotion
  • Afro-American religion: a study of African religion in America
  • The Bible and its role in religions
  • Religion is more of emotions than logic
  • Choose five religions of the world and study the similarities in their ideas
  • The role of religious leaders in combating global terrorism
  • Terrorism: the place of religion in promoting violence in the Middle East
  • The influence of religion in modern-day politics
  • What will the world be like without religion or religious extremists?
  • Religion in the growth of communist Russia: how cultural revolution is synonymous with religion
  • Religion in the growth of communist China: how cultural revolution is synonymous with religion
  • The study of religions and ethnic rivalries in India
  • Terrorism in Islam is a comeback to the crusades
  • The role of the Thirty Years of War in shaping world diplomacy
  • The role of the Thirty Years of War in shaping plurality in Christianity
  • The religion and the promotion of economics
  • The place of world religions on homosexuality
  • Why does a country, the Vatican City, belong to the Catholic Church?
  • God and the concept of the supernatural: examine the idea that God is a supernatural being
  • The influence of religion in contemporary Japan
  • Religion and populism in the modern world
  • The difference between mythical creatures and gods
  • Polytheism and the possibility of world peace
  • Religion and violence in secular societies?
  • Warfare and subjugation in the spread of religion
  • The policies against migrant in Poland is targeted against Islam
  • The role of international organizations in maintaining religious peace
  • International terrorist organizations and the decline of order

Research Paper Topics Religion and Society

As a student in a university or MBA student, you may be requested to write an informed paper on sociology and religion. There are many sociology religion research paper topics for these segments although they may be hard to develop. You can choose out of the following topics or rephrase them to suit your research interest:

  • The influence of religion on the understanding of morality
  • The role of religion in marginalizing the LGBTQ community
  • The role of women in religion
  • Faith crisis in Christianity and Islamic religions
  • The role of colonialism in the spreading of religion: the spread of Christianity and Islam is a mortal sin
  • How does religion shape our sexual lifestyle?
  • The concept of childhood innocence in religion
  • Religion as the object of hope for the poor: how religion is used as a tool for servitude by the elite
  • The impact of traditional beliefs in today’s secular societies
  • How religion promotes society and how it can destroy it
  • The knowledge of religion from the eyes of a sociologist
  • Religious pluralism in America: how diverse religions struggle to strive
  • Social stratification and its role in shaping religious groups in America
  • The concept of organized religion: why the belief in God is not enough to join a religious group
  • The family has the biggest influence on religious choices: examine how childhood influences the adult’s religious interests
  • Islamophobia in European societies and anti-Semitism in America
  • The views of Christianity on interfaith marriage
  • The views of Islam on interfaith marriage
  • The difference between spirituality and religion
  • The role of discipline in maintaining strict religious edicts
  • How do people tell others about their religion?
  • The features of religion in sociology
  • What are the views of Karl Marx on religion?
  • What are the views of Frederic Engels on religion?
  • Modern Islam: the conflict of pluralism and secularism
  • Choose two religions and explore their concepts of divorce
  • Governance and religion: how religion is also a tool of control
  • The changes in religious ideas with technological evolution
  • Theology is the study of God for God, not humans
  • The most feared religion: how Islamic extremists became identified as terrorist organizations
  • The role of cults in the society: why religious people still have cults affiliations
  • The concept of religious inequality in the US
  • What does religion say about sexual violence?

Religion Essay Topics

As a college student, you may be required to write an essay on religion or morality. You may need to access a lot of religious essay topics to find inspiration for a topic of your choice. Rather than go through the stress of compiling, you can get more information for better performance from religion topics for research paper like:

  • The origin of Jihad in Islam and how it has evolved
  • Compare the similarities and differences between Christian and Judaism religions
  • The Thirty Years War and the Catholic church
  • The Holocaust: historic aggression or a religious war
  • Religion is a tool of oppression from the political and economic perspectives
  • The concept of patriarchy in religion
  • Baptism and synonym to ritual sacrifice
  • The life of Jesus Christ and the themes of theology
  • The life of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) and the themes of theology
  • How can religion be used to promote world peace?
  • Analyze how Jesus died and the reason for his death
  • Analyze the event of the birth of Christ
  • The betrayal of Jesus is merely to fulfill a prophecy
  • Does “prophecy” exist anywhere in religion?
  • The role of war in promoting religion: how crusades and terrorist attacks shape the modern world
  • The concept of Karma: is Karma real?
  • Who are the major theorists in religion and what do they say?
  • The connection of sociology with religion
  • Why must everyone be born again according to Christians?
  • What does religious tolerance mean?
  • What is the benefit of religion in society?
  • What do you understand about free speech and religious tolerance?
  • Why did the Church separate from the state?
  • The concept of guardian angels in religion
  • What do Islam and Christianity say about the end of the world?
  • Religion and the purpose of God for man
  • The concept of conscience in morality is overrated
  • Are there different sects in Christianity?
  • What does Islam or Christianity say about suicide?
  • What are the reasons for the Protestant Reformation?
  • The role of missionaries in propagating Christianity in Africa
  • The role of the Catholic church in shaping Christianity
  • Do we need an international religious organization to maintain international religious peace?
  • Why do people believe in miracles?

Argumentative Essay Topics on Religion

Creating argumentative essay topics on religion may be a daunting exercise regardless of your level. It is more difficult when you don’t know how to start. Your professor could be interested in your critical opinions about international issues bordering on religion, which is why you need to develop sensible topics. You can consider the following research paper topics religion and society for inspiration:

  • Religion will dominate humanity: discuss
  • All religions of the world dehumanize the woman
  • All men are slaves to religion
  • Karl Marx was right when he said religion is the return of the repressed, “the sigh of the oppressed creature”: discuss
  • Christianity declined in Europe with the Thirty Years War and it separated brothers and sisters of the Christian faith?
  • Islamic terrorism is a targeted attack on western culture
  • The danger of teen marriage in Islam is more than its benefits
  • The church should consider teen marriages for every interested teenager
  • Is faith fiction or reality?
  • The agape love is restricted to God and God’s love alone
  • God: does he exist or is he a fiction dominating the world?
  • Prayer works better without medicine: why some churches preach against the use of medicine
  • People change religion because they are confused about God: discuss
  • The church and the state should be together
  • Polygamous marriage is evil and it should be condemned by every religion
  • Cloning is abuse against God’s will
  • Religious leaders should also be political leaders
  • Abortion: a sin against God or control over your body
  • Liberty of religious association affects you negatively: discuss
  • Religious leaders only care about themselves, not the people
  • Everyone should consider agnosticism
  • Natural laws are the enemy of religion
  • It is good to have more than two faiths in a family
  • It is hard for the state to exist without religion
  • Religion as a cause of the World War One
  • Religion as a tool for capitalists
  • Religion doesn’t promote morality, only extremisms
  • Marriage: should the people or their religious leaders set the rules?
  • Why the modern church should acknowledge the LGBTQ: the fight for true liberalism
  • Mere coexistence is not religious tolerance
  • The use of candles, incense, etc. in Catholic worship is idolatrous and the same as pagan worship: discuss
  • The Christian religion is the same as Islam

Christianity Research Paper Topics on Religion

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Christian or not as you need to develop a range of topics for your essay or project. To create narrow yet all-inclusive research about Christianity in the world today, you can consider research topics online. Rather than rack your head or go through different pages on the internet, consider these:

  • Compare and contrast Christian and Islam religions
  • Trace the origin of Christianity and the similarity of the beliefs in the contemporary world
  • Account for the violent spread of Christianity during the crusades
  • Account for the state of Christianity in secular societies
  • The analysis of the knowledge of rapture in Christianity
  • Choose three contemporary issues and write the response of Christianity on them
  • The Catholic church and its role towards the continuance of sexual violence
  • The Catholic church and the issues of sexual abuse and scandals
  • The history of Christianity in America
  • The history of Christianity in Europe
  • The impact of Christianity on American slaves
  • The belief of Christianity on death, dying, and rapture
  • The study of Christianity in the medieval period
  • How Christianity influenced the western world
  • Christianity: the symbols and their meaning
  • Why catholic priests practice celibacy
  • Christianity in the Reformation Era
  • Discuss the Gnostic Gospels and their distinct historic influence on Christianity
  • The catholic church in the Third Reich of Germany
  • The difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament
  • What the ten commandments say from a theological perspective
  • The unpredictable story of Moses
  • The revival of Saul to Paul: miracle or what?
  • Are there Christian cults in the contemporary world?
  • Gender differences in the Christian church: why some churches don’t allow women pastors
  • The politics of the Catholic church before the separation of the church and the state
  • The controversies around Christian religion and atheism: why many people are leaving the church
  • What is the Holy Trinity and what is its role in the church?
  • The miracles of the New Testament and its difference from the Old Testament’s
  • Why do people question the existence of God?
  • God is a spirit: discuss

Islam Research Paper Topics

As a student of the Islamic religion or a Muslim, you may be interested in research on the religion. Numerous Islam research paper topics could be critical in shaping your research paper or essay. These are easy yet profound research paper topics on religion Islam for your essays or papers:

  • Islam in the Middle East
  • Trace the origin of Islam
  • Who are the most important prophets in Islam?
  • Discuss the Sunni and other groups of Muslims
  • The Five Pillars of Islam are said to be important in Islam, why?
  • Discuss the significance of the Holy Month
  • Discuss the significance of the Holy Pilgrimage
  • The distinctions of the Five Pillars of Islam and the Ten Commandments?
  • The controversies around the hijab and the veil
  • Western states are denying Muslims: why?
  • The role of religious leaders in their advocacy of sexual abuse and violence
  • What the Quran says about rape and what does Hadiths say, too?
  • Rape: men, not the women roaming the street should be blamed
  • What is radicalism in Islam?
  • The focus of Islam is to oppress women: discuss
  • The political, social, and economic influence of modernity on Islam
  • The notable wives of prophet Muhammad and their role in Islam: discuss
  • Trace the evolution of Islam in China and the efforts of the government against them
  • Religious conflict in Palestine and Israel: how a territorial conflict slowly became a religious war
  • The study of social class and the Islamic religion
  • Suicide bombers and their belief of honor in death: the beliefs of Islamic jihadists
  • Account for the issues of marginalization of women in Muslim marriages
  • The role of literature in promoting the fundamentals of Islam: how poetry was used to appeal to a wider audience
  • The concept of feminism in Islam and why patriarchy seems to be on a steady rise
  • The importance of Hadiths in the comprehension of the Islamic religion
  • Does Islam approve of democracy?
  • Islamic terrorism and the role of religious leaders
  • The relationship of faith in Islam and Christianity: are there differences in the perspectives of faith?
  • How the Quran can be used as a tool for religious tolerance and religious intolerance
  • The study of Muslims in France: why is there religious isolation and abuse in such a society?
  • Islam and western education: what are the issues that have become relevant in recent years?
  • Is there a relationship between Islam and Science?
  • Western culture: why there are stereotypes against Muslims abroad
  • Mythology in Islam: what role does it play in shaping the religion?
  • Islam and the belief in the afterlife: are there differences between its beliefs with other religions’?
  • Why women are not allowed to take sermons in Islam

Can’t Figure Out Your Religion Paper?

With these religious research paper topics, you’re open to change the words or choose a topic of your choice for your research paper or essay. Writing an essay after finding a topic is relatively easy. Since you have helpful world religion research paper topics, research paper topics on religion and society, religion essay topics, argumentative essay topics on religion, Christianity research paper topics, and Islam research paper topics, you can go online to research different books that discuss the topic of your choice. However, if you require the assistance of professional academic experts who offer custom academic help, you’ll find them online. There are a few writing help online groups that assist in writing your essays or research paper as fast as possible. You can opt for their service if you’re too busy or unmotivated to write your research paper or essay.

177 Human Rights Research Topics

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Sociology Of Religion Research Paper

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Sample Sociology Of Religion Research Paper. Browse other  research paper examples and check the list of research paper topics for more inspiration. If you need a religion research paper written according to all the academic standards, you can always turn to our experienced writers for help. This is how your paper can get an A! Feel free to contact our research paper writing service for professional assistance. We offer high-quality assignments for reasonable rates.

Though central to the concerns of the founding fathers and to such major mid-twentieth century figures as Talcott Parsons and Robert Merton, religion has, for some time, been regarded as of marginal interest within the discipline of sociology. However, the recent resurgence of ethno-religion and of militant variants of major world religions has incited mainstream reconsideration of the salience of the topic thereby directing attention toward the sociology of religion as a specialized area of research. Meanwhile, the subdiscipline has acquired a significant role in the generation of insights and perspectives among theologians, historians of religion and exponents of Religionswissenschaft.

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Get 10% off with 24start discount code, 1. the role of the classics.

With roots in the earliest versions of sociological thought, the sociology of religion remains strongly influenced by the classics and Durkheim and Weber still supply the main axes of intellectual tension within subdisciplinary theoretical discourse (O’Toole 1984). The former’s concern with religion’s role in social cohesion, group stability, and the reproduction of sociocultural forms is complemented by the latter’s preoccupation with its part in radical, large-scale social and cultural transformations. Their writings are constantly ransacked for insights while their ideas, often elaborated or even creatively misinterpreted, continue to permeate contemporary discussion of such topics as secularization, sectarianism, civil religion, new religious movements, ecclesiastical organizations, ritual, and religious transformations.

Through the scope of their theories and the depth of their insights, the classics inevitably breed rival readings and multiple interpretations, e.g., while Durkheim and Weber are often viewed as exponents of the secularization thesis, both offer ammunition for its adversaries. The ambiguity of Durkheim’s legacy is evident in attempts to explain his fundamental theory of religion. Here, metaphorical parallelism battles symbolic realism as defenders of a materialist Durkheim confront those who proclaim him an idealist thinker.

Though Durkheim and Weber constitute the twin pillars of the subdiscipline’s classical legacy, other figures have played significant, though more circumscribed roles. When articulation and development of the Weberian church–sect distinction was a central subdisciplinary obsession, Troeltsch’s The Social Teaching of the Christian Churches (1923) universally was accorded classic status as the charter document of the study of religious organization. Today, Troeltsch’s volumes attract attention, less for insights into church establishment and sectarian voluntarism than for their exploration of ‘the secret religion of the educated classes.’ With its cultic and mystical components, Troeltsch’s treatment of this topic presciently anticipates a contemporary concern with religious individualization and privatization and thus deserves continuing scrutiny.

Rarely granted subdisciplinary recognition until the 1970s, the writings of Marx and Engels may now be said to have achieved minor classical standing. They have influenced theoretical discussion as well as inspiring a minority scholarship whose neo-Marxism is characterized by a sense of the ‘relative autonomy’ of religion and a belief in continuity rather than conflict between the views of Marx and Weber (O’Toole 1984).

Alexis de Tocqueville has long lurked in the back-ground of sociological discussions of American religion but, until recently, his Democracy in America (1835) never achieved the subdisciplinary classic status of Niebuhr’s The Social Sources of Denominationalism (1957). Whereas Niebuhr is now largely neglected, however, Tocqueville increasingly is commissioned in the service of a current fascination with the ‘vitality’ of US religion and the sources of a supposed ‘American Exceptionalism’ in the religious realm. In its assertion of the significance of religious disestablishment and voluntarism, his work is esteemed as the fountainhead of a perceived ‘New Paradigm’ in the study of American religion (Warner 1993).

Long invoked without ever approaching the subdisciplinary standing of Durkheim or Weber, Simmel, too, is the subject of revived interest attributable to the uncanny timeliness of his writings (Simmel 1997). Reflecting his resistance to that domination of the objective spirit over the subjective which characterizes modernity, his focus on a diffused religious attitude in preference to institutionalized religious forms has a decidedly contemporary resonance. Careful to distinguish between formal creeds and the subjective experience of pious individuals, Simmel explores religiosity as well as religion, portraying the latter as a co-creation of acting believers which bridges the private and the public. In a subdiscipline currently grappling with issues of religious individualization, autonomy, fragmentation, and bricolage, Simmel’s potential contribution has perhaps never been greater.

While many sociologists of religion are content to continue a conversation with the classics, others are impatient to break the intellectual spell of what they perceive as the increasingly irrelevant products of a passing industrial era. Those intent on subdisciplinary transcendence of the classics are acutely aware, however, that scholars accustomed to invoking this legacy as new problems arise will not relinquish it lightly.

2. Definitions

In most definitional surveys, discussion hinges upon the merits of functional vs. substantive definitions. Within these frameworks, the relative advantages of inclusive or exclusive conceptualizations are assessed while specific formulations are examined for theoretical coherence and empirical integrity. Since its inception, the sociology of religion has been the scene of such a prolonged battle between the proponents of these strategies for defining religion that, in a sense, the debate between Durkheim and Tylor has been interminable. Contemporary substantivist formulations focus on such elusive phenomena as the sacred, the transcendent, the supernatural or the superempirical. Functional definitions portray religion as an indispensable source of social consensus and cohesion which aids human adaptation to the environment and ensures societal survival by explaining the meaning of existence and providing answers to questions of ultimate concern.

The question of how inclusive a definition may be while still retaining analytical utility is one that may be directed against both functional and substantive formulations. On the substantivist side, the categories of the supernatural and superempirical are notoriously open-ended while, in the most inclusive functional definitions, society itself assumes a religious character. Debate over the relative merits of definitional strategies often hinges on the issue of how closely sociological usage should adhere to societal understandings. On one side, scholars express frustration that sociological usage of the term ‘religion’ is often remote from and counter-intuitive to anything which ordinary people would recognize as ‘religious.’ On the other, it is argued that ‘religion’ is a culturally specific term with no resonance in many societal contexts and that, in any case, no definition of general utility can be expected to conform to the specific demands of ordinary language usage.

Although subdisciplinary practitioners are accustomed to pursuing their research in a continuing context of definitional disagreement, it is an error to believe that lack of consensus in this area has no practical effect. The degree of social and cultural significance which sociologists of religion currently attribute to religion is influenced, to a great extent, by their definitional predilections.

3. Major Themes

In the period of its greatest growth, since the 1960s, the sociology of religion has exhibited both continuity and change. The classics remain a continuous presence although their range of application has expanded. A Judaeo–Christian emphasis is still clearly discernible but it has become self-consciously circumscribed within more globally comparative ambitions. The functionalist tone of earlier theoretical discussions has given way to a polycentric approach that critically assesses the merits and defects of rival perspectives claiming a hearing. Most notably, the variety of topics examined under the subdisciplinary rubric has widened significantly. Whereas the sociology of religion was previously directed largely toward familiar subject matter, it now increasingly ventures into mysterious territory and assumes novel theoretical and methodological challenges. It cannot be said that the sociology of religion has been unresponsive to the unfolding religious processes and transformations of the latter half of the twentieth century. On the contrary, its evolution has been largely propelled by such reactions. The present generation of subdisciplinary specialists is engaged in research on many fronts. While continuing to investigate such phenomena as mainline religion, civil religion, millenarianism, conversion, and the changing role of clergy, its representatives also are exploring energetically a wide array of new topics generated by the turmoil of the last quarter of the twentieth century. E.g., events in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union since 1989 have underlined religion’s potency in the forging of ethnonationalism, thereby provoking numerous studies of the contemporary fate of religion in specific former Iron Curtain countries.

Although, in its strict American Protestant sense, it has claimed a longstanding subdisciplinary interest, ‘fundamentalism’ has also captured scholarly attention in its contemporary comparative meaning, particularly since the Iranian revolution. Adopting a blanket term coined by the mass media, sociologists of religion have participated in a number of subdisciplinary and interdisciplinary projects which examine the currently politically-charged topic of religious extremism (Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, etc.) under this heading. The effort to discern its underlying characteristics has raised the crucial question of whether the fundamentalist impulse toward dedifferentiation and totality represents an assault on modernity, a manifestation of modernism or an intriguing combination of both.

Subdisciplinary practitioners exhibit an enhanced capacity for scrutiny of specific religious developments within a large-scale comparative context and in terms of more general theoretical debate. The study of Pentecostalism, e.g., is no longer confined to the margins and backwoods of Western societies. In the works of contemporary specialists, it emerges as a movement which offers a serious challenge to mainline religions in the West, is rapidly transforming the religious maps of Latin America and Africa and is making a serious spiritual, social and economic impact on parts of Asia. Sociologists of religion have been forced by world events to situate their subject matter in an increasingly international, comparative, and global framework whether their interest is in fundamentalism, charismatic Christianity, New Religious Movements, or any other major topic of research. It is unsurprising, therefore, that they have led the way in promoting globalization as a concept of central theoretical importance, not just for their subdiscipline but for sociology as a whole.

Born in the political alienation, generational conflict, and crisis of values which characterized the era of the Vietnam War and its aftermath, the study of New Religious Movements (NRMs) revitalized a subdiscipline which appeared to have exhausted the possibilities of the church–sect approach to religious organization. Over the last quarter of the twentieth century, sociologists of religion have continued to study Unificationists, Scientologists, Rajneeshis, Transcendental-Meditationists, Hare Krishnas, and many other movements of religious innovation and experimentation. In the process, they have accumulated a mass of ethnographic material documenting their inner dynamics, recruitment practices, resource mobilization, and ideological development while simultaneously struggling to discern the broader theoretical import of this information. Originating amidst heady notions of an emerging ‘new religious consciousness,’ another ‘Great Awakening’ and an imminent ‘Return of the Sacred,’ NRM research has long subscribed to more sober assessments of its subject matter. Nonetheless, scholars in this field reject suggestions that they are engaged in a mere pursuit of the trivial and exotic. The significance of NRMs is believed to lie in their role as indicators of broader sociocultural trends but, unfortunately, there is wide disagreement concerning their overall significance for contemporary and future religion. For some commentators, they represent a decisive blow to the secularization thesis, their very existence contradicting any notion of a ‘disenchantment of the world.’ For others, they constitute strong evidence in support of the secularization thesis, confirming by their tiny membership, syncretic ideology, and cultural marginality the inability of religion to restore its fortunes in any significant way.

What might be considered a ‘second wave’ of NRM research has focused, more recently, on such topics as Satanism, Witchcraft, neo-Paganism, and various manifestations of ‘New Age’ spirituality. Such studies provide intriguing comparisons and contrasts with first-generation NRMs as well as with occultic movements formed at the end of the nineteenth century. They also examine phenomena such as Wicca and neo-Paganism as indicators of such broad religious trends as individualization, privatization, and bricolage, thereby suggesting their essentially postindustrial or postmodern character. A growing fascination with New Age spirituality as a highly individualistic and experiential enterprise has perhaps played a part in the encouragement or revival of subdisciplinary interest in such topics as healing, the natural environment, the human body, and collective memory as they relate to religious issues. As sociologists of religion increasingly have shifted their attention in these directions, the possibility of fruitful interchange between students of NRMs and analysts of so-called ‘New Social Movements’ from other subdisciplines has been raised. Though the response to this challenge has been rather muted, such cooperation might facilitate a greater infusion of general theoretical ideas into the sociology of religion.

4. Methods And Theories

Within the sociology of religion, methodology and theory typically have been implicit rather than explicit. Perhaps partly due to a certain insulation and isolation, the kinds of self-consciously theoretical disputes which occur in other subdisciplines rarely have been witnessed. Nonetheless, since the unraveling of functionalist orthodoxy in the 1970s, the subdiscipline has experienced significant, if civil, discord which stubbornly resists efforts at securing synthesis.

The subdiscipline employs a wide range of quantitative and qualitative methodological techniques including large-scale social surveys, participant-observation, and textual analysis of contemporary and historical materials. Here, as in sociology generally, one investigator’s sophisticated device is another’s blunt instrument, although open debates on this theme are rare. For the most part, a wall of indifference segregates quantitative from qualitative methodologists although it has been breached occasionally. In the broadest methodological sense, the reciprocal relationship between sociological research and religious activity merits attention though it is often ignored on the basis of a glib distinction between religious sociology and sociology of religion formulated in a religious context less bewildering than the current one. To what extent sociologists of religion see their own reflection in the religious realm on which they report is a sensitive issue which surfaces in a number of ways. Thus, in asserting the impact of societal reality upon sociological method, some observers suggest that a purported contemporary transition from institutionalized to individually autonomous forms of religion necessitates a shift from qualitative fieldwork directed at groups to quantitative surveys aimed at individuals. In contrast to this, other commentators ponder the possibility that perception of a rise in privatized religion may itself be partly a product of specific, widely disseminated research techniques directed toward discernment of the dimensions of individual religiosity.

While the complexities and subtleties of the reciprocal relationship between observers and those they observe have come to the fore most notably in discussions of scholarship and partisanship in the NRM field, they are equally evident in other religious settings. Students of Liberation Theology and Base Communities, e.g., are often confronted by sociological ideas in explicit use by those under observation. More generally, widespread use of the term ‘secularization’ by mainline churches seems to offer an excellent example of social science rebounding upon society. It also provides a cautionary tale of the manner in which societal embrace of a sociological notion may possibly inspire a self-fulfilling prophecy. In any general assessment of the theoretical situation within the sociology of religion, it is difficult to overcome the impression that scholars are traveling in all directions at once and that every assertion eventually evokes its exact opposite. Empirical–analytic, historical–hermenentic, and critical conceptions of science are all in evidence and the major tendencies in contemporary sociological theorizing are represented in varying degrees (e.g., functionalism, conflict theory, Marxism, critical theory, symbolic-interactionism, phenomenology, rational-utilitarianism). In such a situation, it is difficult to ascertain the main drift of theoretical innovation but recent important developments may be noted.

A mood of skepticism toward Grand Theories and Grand Narratives appears, in some quarters, to have intensified suspicions of deduction and prediction to a point where the initial nomothetic impulse of the subdiscipline has been supplanted by an idiographic ‘historical turn.’ This involves a strategy of methodological individualism, a stress on individual autonomy and creativity, and an overall preoccupation with agency rather than structure. In a parallel development, longstanding inductive and interpretive tendencies have experienced reinvigoration and reinforcement as theorizing has taken a decidedly ‘cultural’ direction. In their efforts to take seriously the meaning of religion in the lives of believers and practitioners, proponents of this perspective employ the insights of cognitive and phenomenological theory while simultaneously drawing upon anthropological sources and material derived from the field of Cultural Studies. Fundamental to this cultural approach is a fervent antireductionism which rejects the notion of religion’s epiphenomenal character and refuses to regard religious phenomena as really something else. Vigorously endorsing methodological individualism and deductive scientific logic, rational-choice theory has had an undeniably profound impact on the sociology of religion during the 1990s. Appointing Adam Smith to the subdisciplinary classical pantheon, its advocates employ economic metaphors to describe, explain, and predict religious behavior. Led by de Tocqueville’s identification of a causal link between voluntarism and vitality in the American religious experience, they indicate the paramount importance of choice and competition in US religious ‘exceptionalism.’ Extending their analysis in a comparative direction, they strongly oppose suggestions of the inevitability of secularization, linking dynamic religious growth to a process of ‘deregulation’ in the religious realm. While it has won many converts, rational-choice theory has left many unconvinced by either its specific market analyses of religious profit-and-loss or its fundamental assumptions concerning religious behavior. To its most severe critics, its basic propositions appear embedded in ambiguity and tautology while its claims to universal applicability reflect an unfortunate regression into a presociological mode of analysis. Nonetheless, rational-choice analysis now represents such a significant presence that it is regarded by many of its admirers, and perhaps even some of its detractors, as the central constituent of a new subdisciplinary paradigm.

The themes of secularization and the contemporary transformations of religion have permeated subdisciplinary discussion in all its aspects since the 1960s. The concept of secularization has, for many, proven itself to be a plausible, persuasive, and resilient means for interpreting the fortunes of religion in the twentieth century. From another viewpoint it has been judged a misguided myth whose influence has retarded scholarly progress and whose persistence underlines the subdisciplinary need to transcend the classics. Although its classical provenance is tinged with ambiguity, the secularization perspective has long held a privileged position within the sociology of religion, being described frequently as a dominant ‘paradigm.’ Logically dependent for its meaning on the definition of ‘religion,’ the concept has an intrinsic inclination to ambiguity which is often reinforced by vague and careless usage. Despite the best efforts of its proponents to articulate the main elements of the secularization thesis with analytical exactitude, debates over its validity frequently are characterized by argument at cross-purpose. While the validity of empirical evidence is occasionally at issue, facts are not typically in dispute and discussions tend to hinge on the interpretation of various social patterns.

What is new about the current debate is that proponents of the secularization thesis are now decidedly on the defensive. The undermining of the secularization thesis has occurred gradually through the efforts of scholars ranging theoretically from functionalists to phenomenologists but this process has accelerated in the last decade as a result of the arguments of rational-choice theorists and a new subdisciplinary awareness of the historical record. Indeed, some sociologists of religion discern, in the current convergence of these tendencies, the emergence of nothing less than a new subdisciplinary paradigm destined to displace the secularization thesis. Whether this new outlook, which combines deductive theory with social history, may accurately be described as a paradigm is in dispute. There is little doubt, however, that it captures a certain fin de siecle subdisciplinary mood of stock-taking and reassessment in which the prospects of religion appear much brighter than a few decades ago. Perhaps the ‘new paradigm’ is best understood within the context of changing attitudes to modernity. As a by-product of current postmodernist debate, the concept of modernity has experienced revival and refurbishment, a situation with significant consequences for the study of religion. The familiar conception which assumed that as a result of differentiation and relativization, secularization was an inextricable and inevitable component of modernity has given way to a revisionist version of modernity which neither precludes the persistence of religion nor constrains its vitality. Although its significance is challenged by defenders of the secularization thesis, mounting evidence of the vigor of religion on the international scene encourages subdisciplinary embrace of a more encompassing vision of modernity.

Interestingly, this vision is complemented by an increasingly broad conception of religion. Any attempt to portray religion’s changing face since the 1970s must stress the extremely wide range of phenomena currently accommodated under the religious rubric before tracing those trends which constitute the common currency of all analyses of the contemporary religious scene. These include the processes of disestablishment, individualization, privatization, fragmentation, and globalization as well as a number of variants and counter-themes. In the process by which a primarily institutional conception of religion has given way to a far more inclusive and elusive subdisciplinary formulation, the impact of Luckmann’s ‘invisible religion’ thesis cannot be overestimated (Luckmann 1967). Where earlier functionalist definitions had focused on such vast notions as ‘ultimate concerns’ and ‘grounds of meaning,’ Luckmann raises the stakes even higher by identifying the transcendence of biological nature by the human organism as a religious phenomenon. He thus describes a general anthropological condition that links the creation of religion inextricably with the formation of the individual and the self. In various guises, this has been a major subdisciplinary theme during the years following the promulgation of his provocative thesis.

Concerned for so long with religion’s role in the creation, preservation, and perpetuation of collectivity and community, many sociologists of religion have transferred their attention to the role of the individual and the dimensions of personal religiosity. As with other major subdisciplinary developments, this shift of attention is a product of perceived changes in societal reality as much as theoretical logic. It is not necessary to subscribe to the secularization thesis in order to be aware of the profound crisis which has beset the major institutional forms of religion in Western societies since World War II. Moreover, the vastly diminished role of religion as the ‘ideology of community’ has become increasingly evident. Thus, the new direction taken by the subdiscipline is part of its effort to cope with the rapid transformation of religion under conditions of postindustrialism and postmodernity.

One aspect of this new reality is starkly evident in the work of Bellah et al. (1985) whose insight into the success and decline of American ‘civil religion’ has expanded into a concern with the collapse of community. Viewing dwindling involvement in religious organizations within the broader picture of a general decline in participation in political parties, trade unions, voluntary associations, and community groups, Bellah and co-workers perceive religion as increasingly a matter of private concern and personal idiosyncrasy.

This theme is echoed in all current investigations of institutionalized religion, particularly in its ‘mainline’ forms. Although there is no immediate prospect of the collapse of organized religion, its future arguably depends on its ability to accommodate new attitudes to religious authority and revised forms of religious involvement. Commentary on the contemporary religious climate demonstrates considerable consistency in detecting a number of key related processes at work. Some observers describe individualization and privatization. Others refer, in a US context, to a ‘third disestablishment’ involving an expansion of personal autonomy. Fragmentation frequently is explored and a growing tendency among believers to ‘mix and match’ elements from a variety of denominational and religious traditions is emphasized. The terms bricolage, religion a la carte, and consumerism are also utilized in portraying the extent to which individuals privately construct personally meaningful syncretic systems of belief for themselves. In examining the dilemmas of organized religion, many scholars discern a disinclination toward total acceptance of any denominational or religious belief system either through inheritance or conversion. This denotes a fundamental alteration in the popular conception of religion. No longer regarded as a source of anthoritative meaning, increasingly it is considered instrumentally as a broad, pliant, cultural resource at the disposal of autonomized individuals. Moreover, the accuracy of this assessment is underlined by researchers who document an accelerating incidence of ‘belief without belonging’ as a mode of religious commitment.

The future of organized religion is precarious and unpredictable but with the waning of the secularization thesis, it is less often discussed in terms of inevitability. Though it seems certain to remain a major player on the religious scene for the forseeable future, increasingly it will share the subdisciplinary limelight with more ‘diffuse’ and ‘invisible’ forms of religion. Often under the general umbrella of ‘the sacred,’ the attention of sociologists of religion focuses increasingly on uninstitutionalized forms of religion and their involvement in the transformation of the self. In this regard, studies of popular, ‘common,’ and ‘implicit’ religion, along with investigations of diffuse versions of spiritual and mystical experience, are now a noteworthy part of the subdisciplinary agenda. They are accompanied by efforts to discern the presence of the sacred in such secular settings as ‘self-help’ and therapy groups, fitness centers, weight-loss clinics, and healthfood stores which are often depicted as instruments in the pursuit of individual self-perfection.

True to form, however, there is no subdisciplinary consensus on an overall or inevitable passage into more privatized forms of religion in the postindustrial era. On the basis of evidence drawn from Poland, Spain, Brazil, and the US, Casanova (1994) perceives an intersection of religion and politics and a revival of ‘public religion’ in the modern world. This conception is given credence by globalization theory that regards both privatization and politicization as products of the modern global condition.

Whether religion’s privatization or individualization will accelerate or whether its former capacity as a source of authoritative meaning will reassert itself and inspire novel, enduring, and significant forms of collective and public spiritual expression remains to be seen. One thing is certain: reappraisal of the past and adjustment to the present have ensured that, in the sociology of religion, the future is not what it used to be.

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    Since its inception, the sociology of religion has been the scene of such a prolonged battle between the proponents of these strategies for defining religion that, in a sense, the debate between Durkheim and Tylor has been interminable. Contemporary substantivist formulations focus on such elusive phenomena as the sacred, the transcendent, the ...