Translated by Wordport from Nota Bene Ver. 4 Document SOFR96
Module Handbook: The Sociology of Religion – 30 credits
(SOC 3015)
Semester One, 2007-08
Professor Grace Davie , 01392 263302, Room A350
Rebecca Catto
Aims
The module aims to do three things: to introduce students to the major theoretical approaches within the sociology of religion; to broach a variety of contemporary debates (for example the secularization debate, fundamentalisms, globalization, and so on.); and to examine these within a variety of contexts (Britain, Europe, North America, and beyond). Methodological issues will be considered an integral part of the course.
Intended learning outcomes
Subject-specific skills: The acquisition of knowledge in the sociology of religion, together with an analytical understanding of the subject which takes into account appropriate historical and theoretical perspectives.
Core academic skills: The ability to relate a body of knowledge to a specific historical context. Competence to think clearly and argue logically about contemporary – as well as historical – material. The ability to articulate complex ideas both orally and in writing.
Personal and key skills: Independent study and group work. The ability to select appropriately from a wide range of material and to present key arguments clearly. The capacity to empathize with religious minorities and to appreciate that the familiar is not necessarily the norm.
Assignments
Regular preparation for classroom presentations, written work of various kinds, and one exercise in observation (to be completed during Reading Week).
Assessment and coursework
Formative work:
One book review (500 words) and one non-assessed essay based on your exercise in observation (2000 words)
Due date: Tuesday 20 November 2007.
Summative work
One assessed essay (4000 words) worth 33% of the final mark.
Due date: Thursday 17 January 2008
A two-hour exam in which students are required to answer two questions. The exam is worth 67% of the final mark. Please note: questions answered in the exam should not duplicate material from the assessed essay.
More information regarding assignments, including a list of essay titles, can be found on pp. 18-20 of this outline. Careful instruction about the exam will be given in the final session.
Penalties
School procedures regarding absence and late submission of assessed work will apply. These, together with the penalties that may be incurred, are outlined in the undergraduate student handbook: http://www.huss.ex.ac.uk/studentUG/handbook/. Please read this very carefully.
Lecture topics and reading
Topics and related reading are listed below. You should read as much as possible, and learn to find your own sources. Be prepared to browse; to get to know the library shelves, especially at 301.58, 305.6 and 306.6 and thereabouts, and to make use of other library facilities – e.g. the Old Library, St Luke’s, other university libraries, public libraries and electronic resources. Use the latter wisely, and remember to cite your source when you use websites (author, date, title, URL and the date accessed).
Students are also expected to follow current debates on religious issues. These are many and varied. Take care to keep accurate files on the chains of events as they unfold and think carefully about how to interpret these.
Abbreviations
ASR: American Sociological Review
BJS: British Journal of Sociology
CUP: Cambridge University Press
JSSR: Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
OUP: Oxford University Press
UP: University Press
Some basic reading
Course text:
G. Davie Sociology of Religion. London: Sage 2007
See also:
W. Swatos (ed.) Encyclopedia of Religion and Society. Walnut Creek CA: Alta Mira 1998 – available on line
J. Beckford and N.J. Demerath III The SAGE Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. London: Sage 2007
(This handbook will be published in November 2007; it will contain an enormous amount of material relevant to this module.)
G. Davie Religion in Britain since 1945. London: Blackwell 1994
G. Davie Religion in Modern Europe. Oxford: OUP 2000
G. Davie Europe: the Exceptional Case, Parameters of Faith in the Modern World. London: Darton, Longman and Todd 2002
S. Bruce Religion in Modern Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1995
S. Bruce From Cathedrals to Cults: Religion in the Modern World. Oxford: OUP1996
S. Bruce Politics and Religion. Cambridge: Polity Press 2003
P. Berger The Desecularization of the World. Resurgent Religion and World Politics. Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans 1999
After Secularization: Charlottesville, VA: Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia, 2006
Please note: Items marked ** on the following reading list will be made available to students through TR, through photocopies or by means of the following web-space: http://www.people.ex.ac.uk/grcdavie/
Outline Syllabus (with dates)
Week 1 (October 2) Introduction, outline of the module
Definitions of religion
Week 2 (October 9) The classics
Understanding secularization
Week 3 (October 16) Rational choice theory
Religion and modernity
Week 4 (October 23) Religion in modern Britain
Planning your assignments
Week 5 (October 30) Methodologies
Into the field (RC)
November 6 (no classes – reading week). I suggest that you complete your observation in this week
Week 6 (November 13) Religion in Europe: mainstreams and
margins
Week 7 (November 20) Stepping Westward: the United States and
beyond
Week 8 (November 27) Understanding fundamentalism(s): some examples – the New Christian Right, Iran
Week 9 (December 4) Multiple modernities: some examples – Latin America,
China; Assessed essays
Week 10 (January 8) Religion and the everyday: welfare and well-being; gender and age; death and dying
Week 11 (January 15) Conclusion and questions; Preparation for the exam
Detailed plan of work
Week 1: Introduction and definitions
In addition to G. Davie (2007), the following are useful references for this and indeed the next section of the module
W. Swatos (ed.) Encyclopaedia of Religion and Society. Walnut Creek CA: Alta Mira 1998. Also available on line: http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/index.html
R. Fenn (ed.) The Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Religion. Oxford: Blackwell 2000
R. Segal (ed.) The Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion. Oxford: Blackwell 2006.
J. Beckford and N.J. Demerath III The SAGE Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. London: Sage 2007
J. Beckford Religion and Advanced Industrial Society. London Unwin Hyman 1989
J. Beckford Social Theory and Religion. Cambridge: CUP 2003
R. O'Toole Religion: Classic Sociological Approaches. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson 1984
Introduction and outline
** Please read Chapter 1 of G. Davie The Sociology of Religion
This will be circulated before the first tutorial:
Definitions of religion
Appropriate sections of Davie (2007), Beckford (2003) and O'Toole (1984)
A. Blasi ‘Definitions’, in W. Swatos (ed.) Encyclopaedia of Religion and Society
E. Barker ‘The scientific study of religion? You must be joking!' JSSR, (34) 1995
E. Durkheim The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. London: Allen Unwin 1976 (first published 1913), ch.1
R. Wallis and S. Bruce 'Religion: The British Contribution', British Journal of Sociology, (3) 1989
K. Thompson 'Religion: The British Contribution', British Journal of Sociology, (4) 1990. (Thompson is a reply to Wallis and Bruce)
Why is it so difficult to define religion? Why is it important to try? What practical questions follow from this in modern societies including our own? Legal as well as sociological questions are significant.
Weeks 2 and 3: Theoretical approaches
The Classics
Appropriate sections of Davie (2007), Beckford (1989), O'Toole (1994) and Swatos (1999)
K. Marx and F. Engels On Religion
D. McLellan Marxism and Religion. London: MacMillan 1987
D.B. McKown The Classic Marxist Critique of Religion: Marx,
Engels and Kautsky. The Hague: Nijhoff 1975
N. Birnbaum 'Beyond Marx in the sociology of religion', in C.Y. Glock and P. Hammond (eds) Beyond the Classics? Essays in the Study of Religion. New York/London: Harper Row 1973
M. Weber The Sociology of Religion, Methuen 1965 (first
published 1922)
M. Weber The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. London: Scribner’s and
Sons 1958 (first published 1904)
S. Sharot A Comparative Sociology of World Religions. New York: New York
University Press 2001
E. Durkheim The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. London: Allen Unwin 1976 (first
published 1913), ch.1
W. Pickering Durkheim on Religion. London: Routledge 1975
S. Lukes Emile Durkheim: his Life and his Work. London: Allen
Lane 1973
R. Bellah 'Civil Religion in America', Daedalus 96 (1967), reprinted in R. Bellah Beyond Belief: Essays on Religion in a Post Traditional World. New York: Harper and Row 1970
To what extent do the insights of the founding fathers of sociology continue to inform the debate about religion in the modern world? Can we build on to their theoretical foundations or is it necessary to make a new start for the twenty-first century?
Secularization: Process and Theory
Appropriate sections of Davie (2007), Beckford (2003) and Swatos (1999)
After Secularization: Charlottesville, VA: Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia, 2006 – a recent and very interesting set of articles
B. Wilson 'Secularization: the inherited model', in P.E. Hammond (ed.) The Sacred in a Secular Age. Berkeley CA: University of California Press 1984; note other essays in this collection which are more hesitant about secularization
B. Wilson Religion in a Sociological Perspective. Oxford: OUP 1982
B. Wilson (ed.) Religion: Contemporary Issues. The All Souls Seminars in the Sociology of Religion. London: Bellew 1992
B. Wilson ‘The Secularization thesis: criticisms and rebuttal’, in B. Wilson, J. Billiet and R.Laermans (Eds), Secularization and social integration: Papers in honour of Karel Dobbelaere. Leuven: Leuven University Press.
D. Martin A General Theory of Secularization. London: Blackwell 1979
D. Martin 'The secularization issue: prospect and retrospect'. BJS 1991/3
D. Martin On Secularization: Towards a Revised General Theory. London: Ashgate 2004 (on order for the library)
S. Bruce (ed.) Religion and Modernization. Oxford: OUP 1992
S. Bruce From Cathedrals to Cults: Religion in the Modern World. Oxford: OUP 1995
S. Bruce God is Dead. Oxford: Blackwell 2002
K. Dobbelaere 'Secularization: a multi-dimensional concept'. Current Sociology, 29/2, 1981
E. Barker, J. Beckford and K. Dobbelaere (eds) Secularization, Rationalism and Sectarianism, Clarendon Press, 1993
R. Laermans, B. Wilson and J. Billiet (eds) Secularization and Social Integration : papers in honour of Karel Dobbelaere, Leuven University Press 1999
A great deal of material within the sociology of religion has been 'ordered' within the framework of secularization. Why should this be so? Is the framework still appropriate? The complexity of the secularization process. The gradual emergence of alternative frames of reference.
Please note: The work of Peter Berger and Jose Casanova will be dealt in the lecture(s) on religion and modernity
Rational Choice Theory
Appropriate sections of Davie (2007) and Swatos (1999)
L. A. Young Rational Choice Theory and Religion: Summary and Assessment. New York/London: Routledge 1997
R. Stark and W. Bainbridge The Future of Religion. Berkeley CA: University of California Press 1985
R. Stark and W. Bainbridge A Theory of Religion. New York: Peter Lang 1987
R. Stark and R. Finke Acts of Faith. Explaining the Human Side of Religion. Berkeley CA: University of California Press 2000
R. Stark and L. Iannaccone 'A supply-side reinterpretation of the "secularization" of Europe'. JSSR (33) 1994
E. Hamberg and T. Pettersson 'The religious market: denominational competition and religious participation in contemporary Sweden'. JSSR (33) 1994
S. Bruce Choice and Religion: a Critique of Rational Choice Theory. Oxford: OUP 1999
S. Bruce 'The truth about religion in Britain'. JSSR (34) 1995; this article is full of additional references to the rational choice debate.
S. Bruce ‘The pervasive world-view: religion in pre-modern Britain’. BJS 1997/
D. Voas, D. Olsen and A. Crockett ‘Religious pluralism and participation: why previous research is wrong?’ ASR (67) 2002
Rational choice theory is an example of relatively recent sociological thinking applied to religious issues. It has generated a very considerable literature. Its main protagonists are Stark, Bainbridge, Finke and Iannaccone. Bruce takes a very different view. This material is also useful for comparisons between Europe (including Britain) and the United States. Keep an eye on the sequence of articles in JSSR from 1990 on – you will find any number of case studies here.
Religion and Modernity
Appropriate sections of Davie (2007)
P. Berger A Far Glory; the Quest for Faith in an Age of Credulity. New York: Doubleday 1992
P. Berger (ed.) The Desecularization of the World. Resurgent Religion and World Politics. Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans 1999
G. Davie Religion in Modern Britain. Oxford: Blackwell: 1994, especially chapter 10
G. Davie Europe: the Exceptional Case. Parameters of Faith in the Modern World, London: DLT 2002
S. Eisenstadt ‘Multiple Modernities’. Daedalus 129/1, 2000, and ‘Early Modernities’. Daedalus, 127/3 1998
J. Beckford Religion and Advanced Industrial Society. London Unwin Hyman 1989, chapter 4 and conclusion
J. Beckford Social Theory and Religion. Cambridge: CUP 2003
S. Bruce From Cathedrals to Cults: Religion in the Modern World. Oxford: OUP 1996
S. Bruce Politics and Religion. Cambridge: Polity Press 2003
J. Casanova Public Religions in the Modern World, Chicago: University of Chicago Press 1994
K. Flanagan and P. Jupp (eds) Postmodernity, Sociology and Religion. London: Macmillan 1996, especially the chapter on Danièle Hervieu-Léger
P. Heelas (ed.) Religion, Modernity and Postmodernity. Oxford: Blackwell 1998
P. Heelas and L.Woodhead (eds) Religion in Modern Times. Oxford: Blackwell 1999
P. Beyer Religion and Globalization. London: Sage 1994
A. Ahmed Postmodernism and Islam. London: Routledge, 1993
E. Gellner Postmodernism, Reason and Religion. London: Routledge, 1993
The mutations of modernity provide a framework within which the various strands of the module - both theoretical and empirical - can be brought together. The lecture will introduce the concepts of ‘multiple modernities’ and ‘European exceptionalism’ – issues to be revisited later in the module.
Weeks 4 and 5: Preparing for fieldwork
Please note: At this point in the module, you should be thinking through the various assignments required of you. Think of these in the round so that each piece of work contributes to the whole.
The context: Religion in modern Britain
Background reading
P. Brierley (ed.) UK Christian Handbook. London: Christian Research Association (latest edition)
P. Weller (ed.) Religions in the UK : a multi-faith directory. Derby: University of Derby in association with The Interfaith Network for the United Kingdom (latest edition)