George N. Lundskow - The sociology of religion : a substantive and transdisciplinary approach

The sociology of religion : a substantive and transdisciplinary approach — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "The sociology of religion : a substantive and transdisciplinary approach" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

1234567...173

The Sociology of Religion

A Substantive and Transdisciplinary Approach

To the faculty at St. Xavier High School, Cincinnati, Ohio, who intensified my interest in religion and inspired my sojourn on the meaning of life. My education at St. Xavier set the foundation of my personal and professional perspective that builds on science, humanities, and religious studies. This book is a waypoint, and I thank St. X for the embarkation.

The Sociology of Religion

A Substantive and Transdisciplinary Approach

George Lundskow

Grand Valley State University

Copyright 2008 by Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

---

For information:

Pine Forge Press A SAGE Publications Company 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 E-mail: SAGE Publications Ltd. 1 Olivers Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP United Kingdom SAGE Publications India Pvt. Ltd. B 1/I 1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044 India SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd. 33 Pekin Street #02-01 Far East Square Singapore 048763

Printed in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lundskow, George N., 1964-

The sociology of religion: a substantive and transdisciplinary approach/George Lundskow.
p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4129-3721-4 (pbk.)

1. Religion and sociology. I. Title.

BL60.L86 2008

306.6dc22 2008008551

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

08 09 10 11 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

---

Acquisitions Editor:	Benjamin Penner
Editorial Assistant:	Nancy Scrofano
Production Editor:	Karen Wiley
Copy Editor:	Teresa Herlinger
Proofreader:	Jenifer Kooiman
Typesetter:	C&M Digitals (P) Ltd.
Indexer:	Sheila Bodell
Cover Designer:	Gail Buschman
Marketing Manager:	Jennifer Reed Banando

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Preface

R eligion has always intrigued me, and although my personal beliefs have at times been uncertain and inconsistent, I have always accepted two basic sociological principles: that people require community, and that they require meaning. Historically, religion has been the mediator between the individual and a sense of transcendence. The existential crisis of modern timesthe loss of meaningdefies history, and perhaps the essence of human existence. Modernitys bargain, as Adam Seligman calls it, trades individuality for everything else, but is such an absolute notion of individual potential we witness today actually viable without the solidarity of social life? Anomie, alienation, ennui, and other characteristic feelings of modernity are not just concepts, but disruptions of human existence that not only threaten fulfillment, but also increase the possibility of radical and desperate attempts to reclaim the transcendent. Terrorism and war both require a population willing to carry out the orders of outside authority, and people who feel lost and alone all too easily become willing fodder for aspirations of destruction.

Yet this book concerns itself significantly with the everyday, the way in which religion plays out in the daily lives of regular people. Although the events of grand achievement and tragic cataclysm stand out powerfully, we should remember as sociologists that most people most of the time live in the mundane world, where routine commitment to family, school, and work defines our lives. In our routines, we often find the small degrees of satisfaction that cumulatively enable us to rise and face or even to cherish a new day. Yet isolation and purposelessness reside in the routine as well, and here, in daily life, we seek the solace of religion as earnestly as we seek a paycheck or the loving embrace of family. People without religion in some form (deistic or not) succumb to existential decrepitude through unrequited emotions and forlorn dreams no less often than people without home, friends, and productive purpose.

This textbook addresses religion on multiple levels as a guide to the sociology of religion, but also to render religion as something worth studying, and as something that holds wondrous and provocative interest independently of college courses and formal education. The study of religion need not be sterile. After all, arent we studying, among other things, how people in different times and places have sought the meaning of life, and sought to comprehend the only universal and absolute fact of life, which is death? The study of religion also includes the study of ironic opposition, that people in pursuit of whats right often commit the greatest good, and sometimes the greatest evil. Religious feeling animates both the ideals of emancipation and the depravity of conquest. As Zoroastrians believe, good and evil often stand in balance; human action decides the outcome.

In this spirit, let us broaden sociology to include insight from other disciplines Let us also maintain an objective perspective and at the same time sensitivity to the subtleties of being and becoming. In short, let us be clear, factual, insightful, and worthwhile. Lets not waste our time in trivialities, and instead seek nothing less than enlightenment.

George N. Lundskow
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Introduction

T he great sociologist Edward Shils (1980) once said that the hard fact of existence is that any serious truth is terribly difficult to discover. Not for the nonchalant intellect or the casual observer, it requires an exceptional curiosity, capacious memory, powerful intelligence, and great imagination as well as stamina and self-discipline beyond the ordinary allotment to human beings. As if this werent enough, the search for truth also requires the discipline of a tradition; it requires the acceptance of an inheritance of knowledge; the reception and assimilation require strenuous exertion (p. 414). With this in mind, this book is not the end of debate, but the beginning. Far from providing a final word or an all-inclusive and definitive treatise, I hope to inspire the reader to look further, to think more deeply, and to offer up all the Shilsian effort that is required of those who seek enlightenment.

In the study of religion, the knowledge, the intellectual traditions, and the substantive content of religions around the world are vast and nearly timeless. Those who would study religion as Shils calls us must possess greater and deeper knowledge, and greater stamina, discipline, curiosity, intellect, and imagination, than other fields require. Ancient in history, religion seems at once like a grand monument to humanitys greatest aspirations and an edifice to our profoundest horrors. From religion rises hope, liberation, and purpose, but also cruelty, war, and destruction. What is sociology to something so vast and vital?

Next page

1234567...173

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «The sociology of religion : a substantive and transdisciplinary approach»

Look at similar books to The sociology of religion : a substantive and transdisciplinary approach. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.

Robert Burgess

Developments in Sociology

Abby Day

Modernities, Memory and Mutations: Grace Davie and the Study of Religion

William A. Mirola

Religion Matters: What Sociology Teaches Us About Religion In Our World

Ronald L. Johnstone

Religion in Society: A Sociology of Religion

Werner Stark

The Sociology of Religion, Part 2: A Study of Christendom, Part 2: Sectarian Religion

Unknown

The Sociology of Religion, Part 1: Established Religion

Reiner Keller

The Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse: Investigating the Politics of Knowledge and Meaning-making.

Robert L. Hamblin

Behavioral Theory in Sociology: Essays in Honour of George C.Homans

Wach

Sociology of Religion

Armando Salvatore

The Sociology of Islam: Knowledge, Power and Civility

James V. Spickard

Alternative Sociologies of Religion: Through Non-Western Eyes

George Ritzer

The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Sociology

Discussion, reviews of the book The sociology of religion : a substantive and transdisciplinary approach and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.