Sociology of Religion. Describes the origins of the sociology of religion. Demystifies secularization as a process and a theory. Relates religion to modern social theory. Unpacks the meaning of religion in relation to modernity and globalization

I can understand God creating everything: the rivers and the mountains; the plants and the trees; the birds and the animals. But I can't understand the need for humans in this grand design? - rvp

The liberation of the human mind has never been furthered by dunderheads; it has been furthered by gay fellows who heaved dead cats into sanctuaries and then went roistering down the highways of the world, proving to all men that doubt, after all, was safe - that the god in the sanctuary was finite in his power and hence a fraud. -H L Mencken

Decency is veiled from sight; indecency is exposed to view. Scenes of evil attract packed audiences; good words scaredly find any listeners. It is as if purity should provoke a blush, and corruption give ground for pride. But where else should this happen but in devils' temples, in the resorts of delusion? -St.Augustine

If we take in our hand any volume of divinity or school metaphysics, for instance, let us ask, does it contain any abstract reasoning concerning quantity or number? No. Does it contain any experimental reasoning concerning matter of fact and existence? No. Commit it then to the flames, for it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion. -David Hume

The foundation for belief and religion is fear and hope. The rich fear the prospect of losing what they have, and the poor hope to gain through belief and religion. - rvp

Since its inception, presumably dated in the classical period of Durkheim and Weber, the sociology of religion has been fascinated by the phenomenon of secularization. This term, of course, has been endlessly debated, modified and occasionally repudiated.

But for most purposes it could be defined quite simply as a process in which religion diminishes in importance both in society and in the consciousness of individuals. And most sociologists looking at this phenomenon have shared the view that secularization is the direct result of modernization - Peter L. Berger

Religious groups enjoy an organizational and systemic link to other conduits of power in a society (government, education, mass media), and make observance a necessary component of prestige.

In this context it is understandable that every U.S. President since Eisenhower has attended church, and most have self-identified as born-again Christians.

If God really existed, it would be necessary to abolish him.- Mikhail Bakunin, God and the State (1882), in seeming response to Voltaire's "If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him."

The fact that a believer is happier than a sceptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity (disposition to believe on weak or insufficient grounds) is a cheap and dangerous quality. -George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) in Preface to Androcles and the Lion

The Council of Societies for the Study of Religion is a federation of learned societies in the field of religious studies. Individuals do not join the Council directly, but apply for membership in one of the Council's constituent societies. The societies seek to further scholarship, research, and teaching in their particular areas and concern themselves with the needs and interests of their members. - cssr.org/about.htm

American Religion Data Archive - free resource available to researchers interested in quantitative data on American religion. - arda.tm/

Center presents its projects in this area. Find an introduction to the field, lists of scientists, articles, research resources, and a bibliography. - hirr.hartsem.edu/sociology/sociology.html

General American Religion Resources (Northwest Missouri State Unversity) abacon.com/sociology/soclinks/religion.html

Swiss Online Texts in the Sociology of Religion - socio.ch/relsoc/index_relsoc.htm