This section will help us consider how we define religion, classify religions, and observe religious activity. The case studies and datasets are a chance to see the stakes and implications of our sociology.
Key Words
- Religion (two examples of its classical etymology and a modern conception of your own design p. 17)
- Substantive v. Functional Definitions
- E. B. Tylor (and his defintion of religion)
- Empirical
- Peter Berger
- Thomas Luckmann
- Wide v. Narrow Defintions
- Normativity
- Ethnocentrism
- Branislov Malinowski
- Syncretism
- Nancy Ammerman and “Spirituality” and “Everyday Religion”
- Robert Bellah and “Civil Religion”
- Nonreligion
- Secular
- Secularity
- Secularism
- Ann Taves and “Worldview”
- “Family Likeness” (Ludwig Wittgenstein, we’ll often use the phrase, “family resemblance”)
- Ninian Smart’s Six Dimensions and Eric Sharpe’s Critique
- Linda Woodhead and Paul Heelas and their typology of religion
- Meredith McGuire and Lived Religion
Textbook Readings
Inger Furseth and Pål Repstad, “Religion and Nonreligion: Definitions and Dimensions,” 17-37 in An Introduction to the Sociology of Religion: Classical and Contemporary Perspectives, Second Edition. Routledge.
Michael Stausberg, “Can I Be Spiritual But Not Religious?” 57-61 in Religion in 5 Mintues. Equinox.
Craig Martin, “Is Atheism or Secularism Just Another Relgion ? 61-63 in Religion in 5 Mintues. Equinox.
Case Study
Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Nikki Graf and Gretchen Livingston, “Marriage and Cohabitation in the U.S.” Pew Resaerch Center, November 6, 2019.
Datasets
“Secularism Across the Globe,” ARDA: The Association of Religion Data Archives.
Take a look at a video from the National Day of Prayer–from any year–on C-Span.
*Take 500 words (total) to answer the following reflection questions:
- How do these images convey or conflict with Robert Bellah’s understanding of “civil religion.”
- Which sociologist that you’ve read helps you best make sense of what you see and why?
