Sociological Theory and the Question of Religion (Theology and Religion in Interdisciplinary Perspective Series in Association with the BSA Sociology of Religion Study Group)

Religion lies near the heart of the classical sociological tradition, yet it no longer occupies the same place within the contemporary sociological enterprise. This relative absence has left sociology under-prepared for thinking about religion's continuing importance in new issues, movements, and events in the twenty-first century. This book seeks to address this lacunae by offering a variety of theoretical perspectives on the study of religion that bridge the gap between mainstream concerns of sociologists and the sociology of religion. Following an assessment of the current state of the field, the authors develop an emerging critical perspective within the sociology of religion with particular focus on the importance of historical background. Re-assessing the themes of aesthetics, listening and different degrees of spiritual self-discipline, the authors draw on ethnographic studies of religious involvement in Norway and the UK. They highlight the importance of power in the sociology of religion with help from Pierre Bourdieu, Marx and Critical Discourse Analysis. This book points to emerging currents in the field and offers a productive and lively way forward, not just for sociological theory of religion, but for the sociology of religion more generally. Introduction: Thinking Theoretically In The Sociology Of Religion / Andrew Mckinnon And Marta Trzebiatowska -- Part I: The State Of The Art And Science Of The Sociology Of Religion -- Thinking Sociologically About Religion: A Step Change In The Debate? / Grace Davie -- What Sort Of Social Theory Would Benefit The Sociology Of Religion? / Steve Bruce -- Part Ii: History And Religion -- The Axial Age Religions: The Debate And Its Legacy For Contemporary Sociology / Bryan S. Turner -- Hope And Religion / David Lehmann -- The Sacramental Mechanism: Religion And The Civilizing Process In Christian Western Europe With Particular Reference To The Peace Of God Movement And Its Aftermath / Andrew Mckinnon -- Part Iii: Religion And Modernity -- Religion And Monetary Culture In The Sociology Of Georg Simmel / Dominika Motak -- Putting Baby Back In The Bath: Theorising Modernity For The Contemporary Sociology Of Religion / Andrew Dawson -- Part Iv: Ethnographies Of Listening To Churches: Aesthetics And Rationality / Anne Margit Løvland And Pål Repstad -- Listening Subjects, Rationality And Modernity / Anna Strhan -- Part V: Power, Gender And Discourse -- Critical Discourse Analysis And Critical Sociology Of Religion / Titus Hjelm -- Beyond Habitus: Researching Gender And Religion Through The Ontology Of Social Relations / Marta Trzebiatowska. Edited By Andrew Mckinnon And Marta Trzebiatowska. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Andrew McKinnon and Marta Trzebiatowska: Introduction: Thinking Theoretically in the Sociology of Religion Part I: The State of the Art and Science of the Sociology of Religion 1 Grace Davie: Thinking Sociologically about Religion: A Step Change in the Debate? 2 Steve Bruce: What Sort of Social Theory Would Benefit the Sociology of Religion? Part II: History and Religion 3 Bryan S. Turner: The Axial Age Religions: The Debate and its Legacy for Contemporary Sociology 4 David Lehmann: Hope and Religion 5 Andrew McKinnon: The Sacramental Mechanism: Religion and the Civilizing Process in Christian Western Europe Part III: Religion and Modernity 6 Dominika Motak: Religion and Monetary Culture in the Sociology of Georg Simmel 7 Andrew Dawson: Putting Baby Back in the Bath: Theorising Modernity for the Contemporary Sociology of Religion Part IV: Ethnographies of Listening to Churches: Aesthetics and Rationality 8 Anne Margit Løvland and Pål Repstad: Playing the Sensual Card in Churches: Studying the Aestheticization of Religion 9 Anna Strhan: Listening Subjects, Rationality and Modernity Part V: Power, Gender and Discourse 10 Titus Hjelm: Critical Discourse Analysis and Critical Sociology of Religion 11 Marta Trzebiatowska: Beyond Habitus: Researching Gender and Religion through the Ontology of Social Relations This book offers a variety of theoretical perspectives on the study of religion that bridge the gap between mainstream concerns of sociologists and the sociology of religion. Following an assessment of the current state of the field, the authors develop an emerging critical perspective within the sociology of religion with particular focus on the importance of historical background. Re-assessing the themes of aesthetics, listening and different degrees of spiritual self-discipline, the authors draw on ethnographic studies of religious involvement in Norway and the UK