Peter L. Berger and the Sociology of Religion : 50 Years after The Sacred Canopy

How and why did The Sacred Canopy by Peter L. Berger (1929–2017) become a classic? How have scholars used Berger’s ideas over the past 50 years since its publication? How are these ideas relevant to the future of the sociology of religion? Peter L. Berger and the Sociology of Religion explores these questions by providing a broad overview of Berger’s work, as well as more focussed studies. The chapters discuss both aspects of Berger’s classic text: the ‘systematic’ sociological theorizing on religion and the ‘historical’ theorizing on secularization. The articles also critically examine Berger’s reversal regarding secularization and the suggested ‘desecularization’ of the world. The approaches range from disciplinary history to applications of Berger’s ideas. The book includes contributions from Nancy T. Ammerman, Steve Bruce, David Feltmate, Effie Fokas, Titus Hjelm, Doyle Paul Johnson, Hubert Knoblauch, Silke Steets, Riyaz Timol, and Bryan S. Turner Cover Half-title Title Copyright Contents List of Contributors Preface and Acknowledgements 1. Introduction: Peter L. Berger and the Sociology of Religion 2. Vulnerability and Plausibility Structures: Peter L. Berger, Arnold Gehlen and Philosophical Anthropology 3. From Canopies to Conversations: The Continuing Significance of ‘Plausibility Structures’ 4. The Sacred Canopy as a Global Construction Project: Incorporating both Emotional and Cognitive Resources 5. The Sacred Canopy as a Classic: Why Berger’s Conceptual Apparatus Remains Foundational 50 Years Later 6. Sacred Canopies and Invisible Religions: The Dialectical Construction of Religion in Berger and Luckmann 7. Secularization: From Sacred Canopies to Golf Umbrellas 8. Islamic Revivalism and Europe’s Secular ‘Sacred Canopy’: Exploring the Debunking Capacity of Public Religion 9. Religious American and Secular European Courts, or vice versa? A Study of Institutional Cross-Pollination 10. Assessing the Influence of The Sacred Canopy : A Missed Opportunity for Social Constructionism? Notes Bibliography Index "How and why did The Sacred Canopy by Peter L. Berger (1929 2017) become a classic? How have scholars used Berger's ideas over the past 50 years since its publication? How are these ideas relevant to the future of the sociology of religion? Peter L. Berger and the Sociology of Religion explores these questions by providing a broad overview of Berger's work, as well as more focussed studies. The chapters discuss both aspects of Berger's classic text: the 'systematic' sociological theorising on religion and the 'historical' theorising on secularisation. The articles also critically examine Berger's reversal regarding secularisation and the suggested 'desecularisation' of the world. The approaches range from disciplinary history to applications of Berger's ideas. The book includes contributions from Nancy Ammerman, Steve Bruce, David Feltmate, Effie Fokas, Titus Hjelm, D. Paul Johnson, Hubert Knoblauch, Silke Steets, Riyaz Timol, and Bryan S. Turner."--Bloomsbury Publishing.