Description
This is a new text for the sociology of religion course. Instead of surveying the field systematically, the text is organized around a set of big questions that generate the most discussion and debate in the sociology of religion field.
Big questions covered in the text, include:
- Whatever happened to the so-called 'decline of religion'? Explaining religious vitality in today's world.
- Why is there a rising tide of fundamentalism around the world?
- How have recent waves of immigration changed the landscape of religion in the US and elsewhere?
- What are we to make of innovative ways to get your religion? -Mega-churches, televangelism and the crystal shop around the corner
- Is religion a force for social change or a tool of the status quo?
- Can democratic political systems accommodate growing religious diversity?
- If religion teaches love, how can it lead to violence?
- How are sex roles, gender identity and definitions of the family infused with religious meaning?
- Does religion contribute to environmental degradation? Does it have a role to play in preserving the environment?
- What's with the struggle between science and religion?
- Do we need God to do good? Religious and moral values in schools, charities and public policy.
Table of Contents
IN THIS SECTION:
1.) BRIEF
2.) COMPREHENSIVE
BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section I Getting Acquainted
Chapter 1 Why Religion?
Chapter 2 “You Believe What?”
Chapter 3 Downloading God, “Big Box” Churches, and the Crystal Shop Around the Corner
Section II The Shape of Religion
Chapter 4 Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?
Chapter 5 God’s Not Dead (and Neither is the Goddess!)
Chapter 6 Our God Rules (Yours Doesn’t)
Section III Religion, Conflict and the State
Chapter 7 Divine rights and casting down the mighty from their thrones
Chapter 8 Give us our due
Section IV Religion, Identity and Social Inequalities
Chapter 9 Adam, Eve, and Steve
Chapter 10 The (Not So Great) Color Wall of the U.S.
Chapter 11 Who Brought the Enchiladas to My Bar Mitzvah?
Section V More Big Questions
Chapter 12Godless science? Irrational religion?
Chapter 13 The end of days? Religion and environmentalism
Chapter 14 Do we need God to do good?
COMPREHENSIVE TABLE OF CONTENTS
*Recommended readings appear at the end of each chapter
Section I Getting Acquainted
Chapter 1 Why Religion?
But What Is Religion Anyway?
On Belief and Ritual
On Community
Religion Assures Us of Cosmic Order
A Sociological Consensus: Religion is a Human Product
The Promise of Sociology
Chapter 2 “You Believe What?” — A Tour of Religious Belief and Ritual Practice
Comparing Religious Beliefs and Practices
Christianity
Islam
Hinduism
Buddhism
Judaism
Understanding Contemporary Religious Ritual Practices
The Role of Beliefs and Ritual Practices
Section II The Shape of Religion
Chapter 3 Downloading God, “Big Box” Churches, And the Crystal Shop Around the Corner: Religious Adaptation in the High Tech, Digital Age
Changing Technology, Changing Religion
Virtual Spiritual Community, Identity, and Authority
What’s In A “Mega-Church”?
Can You Have Community In A Megachurch?
Other New Forms and Contexts for Religious Community
Chapter 4 Can’t We All Just Get Along? Cohesion and Conflict in Religion
Getting Personal
Religion and Social Cohesion
Religion and Social Conflict
Can’t We All Just Get Along?
Recommended Reading
Chapter 5 News Flash: God’s Not Dead (And Neither Is the Goddess!)
Will The Real Secularization Theory Please Stand Up?
Religious Vitality in the U.S. And Abroad
Secular Yet Religiously Vital?
Chapter 6 Our God Rules (Yours Doesn’t)
Why A Rising Tide Of Fundamentalism Around The World?
What Is Religious Fundamentalism?
The “First” Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism Rising
Characteristics of Religious Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism and Other Aspects of Social Life
Are Fundamentalist Movements Violent?
Holes in Conceptualizing and Understanding Fundamentalism
Is There Such A Thing As Fundamentalism?
Where Do We Go From Here?
Section III Religion, Conflict and the State
Chapter 7 Divine Rights And Casting Down The Mighty From Their Thrones: Does Religion Block Or Encourage Social Change?
Classic Observations about Religion and Social Change
The Lessons from Studying Social Movements
Any Limits of Religion’s Influence on Change?
Chapter 8 Give Us Our Due: Religion and The State Religion and Politics In The U.S.
Why Politics?
“Princes, Governors, and Oppressors”:
Varieties of Relations between Religion and Government
Separate Spheres: Variants of Religion Freedom from Politics
Separation of Church and State: Freedom from Religion?
Section IV Religion, Identity and Social Inequalities
Chapter 9 Adam, Eve, And Steve: How Religion Intersects With Gender and Sexuality
But Isn’t a Woman’s Place In…Religion?
Changing Gender Roles, Changing Relationships to Religion
Does Religion Change With Women In Charge?
Sex, Sex, Sex…Why Does It Always Come Back To Sex?
Challenging and Transforming Religious Ideas about Gender and Sexuality
Chapter 10 The (Not So Great) Color Wall of the U.S.:
Race and Religion in Contemporary Times
So What If Religious Congregations Are Segregated?
Can We Find a Solution?
But Can We Create and Maintain Multiracial Congregations?
Chapter 11 Who Brought The Enchiladas To My Bar Mitzvah? — Immigration and Religious Change
Overarching Religious Changes
Religious Changes for Immigrants
Lessons about Immigration and Religious Change
Section V More Big Questions
Chapter 12 Godless Science, Irrational Religion?
Flashpoint: The Current Debate over Evolution
Creation Stories, Religious and Scientific
Religion and Evolution: What’s The Big Deal?
Religion and Science, Mythos and Logos
Non- Overlapping Magesteria
Science, Technology and Religion
Religious Understanding of Reproductive Technologies
Godless Science? Irrational Religion?
Chapter 13 End of Days? Religion and the Environment
Environmentalism and Its Discontents
Religious Discontents
Religion Finds Environmentalism…
…But Environmentalism Is Leery Of Religion
Do Fundamental Christians Care About The Environment?
The First Wave: Acceptance And Critique of White’s Argument
The Second Wave: Testing “The Lynn White Hypothesis”
Revisiting White: What Was His Point?
Other Religious Approaches to Humans in the Natural World
Romanticized Religion: Indigenous Religion and Clashes with Environmentalists
Is Religion The Answer?
Chapter 14 Do We Need God To Do Good?
Do We Need God To Do Good?
What’s Religion Got?
Does Religion Ensure Doing Good?
A Note on Violence and Moral Communities
Moral Relativism?!
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Religion Matters: What Sociology Teaches Us About Religion in Our World, CourseSmart eTextbook
Format: Electronic Book
$30.99 | ISBN-13: 978-0-205-82020-7
