AKC 1 General – Spring Term 2007 – Religion in the contemporary world: social scientific perspectives
15/01/07
AKC 1 – 15 JANUARY 2007
WHAT CAN SOCIAL SCIENCES TELL US ABOUT RELIGION?
DR MARAT SHTERIN, DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
This lecture is a brief introduction to both the sociology of religion and this particular course on
religion in the modern world. Religion is an extremely interesting subject to think about as it
involves a number of highly significant and fascinating aspects of human existence. Religion is
also a very revealing subject to think with as by focusing on it we can better understand some of
the most significant trends in the modern world.
The first part of the lecture is about sociology as a subject, i.e. about what questions about our
society it raises and how it answers them. In the second part, we discuss how sociological
thinking can help us to understand religion and its role and place in the modern world.
I. Sociology and sociological thinking.
1. Sociology is interested in any kind of ‘sociality’ – in any group of people – from
societies, political movements to criminal formations and fan clubs. What does bind people
together? How do they act as a group? How do new trends, such as globalisation and mass
migration, affect our sense of belonging and social solidarity?
2. Sociologists are interested in social interaction, and more specifically in patterns of
social interaction, i.e. in certain regularities in the ways people do things. In particular, we are
interested in the issue of authority: why do people accept authority of some individuals and
groups and obey certain commands and rules?
What are the new ways in which people interact and do things in the contemporary world?
3. Sociologists study social institutions and social structures. Institution is an enduring
set of ideas and concepts about how to accomplish goals generally recognized as important in
society. How are social institutions, such as education, politics, the family, the economy, etc.
changing in the modern world?
4. Sociologists are interested in the ways in which individuals are shaped and influenced
by their social environment. “Thinking sociologically is to perceive intersections of history and
biography within society” (C. Wright Mills – Sociological Imagination). Therefore, if we are to
understand ourselves, we have to try and understand the contemporary social forces that impinge
on us.
5. Sociologists are profoundly interested in the ways in which people resist social
conventions and change societies, i.e. in non-conformity; hence their interest in non-conventional
and even deviant ways of living in the modern world, and in attempts to change it.
6. One of the main principles of sociology is that we see social reality as resulting from
human activities rather than ‘god given’, i.e. as socially constructed.
7. Sociologists take a critical approach to social reality, they never assume that things are
what they seem. They raise questions, investigate, and criticize. Never taking things for granted
puts them in a better position to understand changes in the modern world.
8. Sociologists are critical of the “official versions of reality” and individual stereotypical
thinking, hence making for more open, objective, unbiased understanding of the world.
II. Sociology and religion.
1. Religion always involves social groups, and it is often what binds people together and
defines them as a group or nation. But is it still capable of performing this role in modern
societies with their diversity, pluralism, globalizing trends, and mass migration?
2. Religion always involves social interaction and often defines the ways (i.e. patterns) in
which people interact and legitimizes authorities that they follow. What is its role in defining
how we interact in the modern world? Is there any place for charismatic leaders in this new
world? Do some religions encourage violence while others promote liberalism and democracy?
3. Religion is a social institution. Religious institutions, groups, and belief often have
profound effects on shaping individuals and social groups, as religion involves values, norms,
and feelings. It affects formation of national and ethnic identities, laws, political views,
economic activities, eating habits, marital relations, and career choices. However, is religion still
capable of influencing other social institutions in the modern world?
4. On the other hand, society, and in particular modern society, with its laws, and political
views also affects and shapes religion.
5. Religion can also be a source of non-conformity and social resistance. Religious
deviance has often been a channel for challenging established norms, conventions, and values
(recall Jesus from Nazareth, Paul, Muhammad, Siddhartha, etc.). What is the impact of new
religious groups and ways of thinking in introducing change in the modern world?
6. As social scientists, we can only observe and interpret those aspects of the religious
phenomena that are results of human activity, i.e. socially constructed. “Sociological theory
must, by its own logic, view religion as a human projection” (P. Berger). Sociologists do not
have to make judgments about truth of religious beliefs, and to accept or reject the content of
religious beliefs. An individual researcher can be a believer, or an atheist, or hold a view
somewhere in between these positions. However, for the purposes of our research, we set aside
our personal opinions about religion and try to be as objective as possible in observing and
interpreting the religious phenomenon under study.
This approach is often called
methodological agnosticism.
7. Sociologists often challenge taken-for-granted views on religion and of religions. This
is done on the basis of rigorous empirical and comparative research.
On the basis of their research, sociologists can arrive at critical views on some practices within
certain religions, e.g. sexism, racism, social exclusion and discrimination, but can also debunk
established and biased views on some religions, in particular religious minorities.
8. The critical sociological approach makes for a more open and unbiased understanding
of religion and diverse religions in the modern world, in which a large number of religious
communities of disparate origins, beliefs, and practices tend to live side by side in one society or
even one city.
Further reading
Aldridge, Alan (2000), Religion in the Contemporary World: A Sociological Introduction,
Oxford: Polity Press, Introduction and Chapter One
Barker, Eileen, (1989), “And What Do You Believe? Methods and Perspectives in Investigating
Religion”, in Burgess, Robert, Investigating Society, London: Longman
Berger, Peter and Thomas Luckman (1967), The Social Construction of Reality, London: Allen
Lane Penguin Press
Markham, Ian, and Ruparell, Tinu, (2001), Encountering Religion, Oxford: Blackwell, Chapter 2
McGuire, Meredith (2000 or other editions), Religion: the Social Context, Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth, CC, Chapter One
Wilson, Bryan (1982), Religion in Sociological Perspective, Oxford: Oxford University Press,
Chapter 1.
Full details about the AKC course, including copies of the handouts, can be found on the AKC
website at: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/akc. Please join in the Discussion Board and leave your
comments. If you have any queries please contact the AKC Course Administrator on ext 2333 or
via email at dean@kcl.ac.uk. Please note the AKC Exam is on Friday 23 March 2007 between
14.30 and 16.30. You must register for the course using the form on the website. You will need
to register for the exam separately, information will be provided shortly.