Durkheim's Sociology of Religion: Themes and Theories - Softcover

Pickering, R. B.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0227172973 ISBN 13: 9780227172971

Publisher: Lutterworth Press, 2009

Synopsis

Religion is central to Durkheim's theory of society, and his work laid most of the foundations of the sociology of religion. Daring and brilliant though his analysis was, its bold claims and questionable premises has made it the subject of ongoing academic debate. Durkheim's work on the subject reached a peak with the publication in 1912 of what turned out to be a classic in its field, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. No other book has explained Durkheim's views on religion using the whole corpus of his writings. Dr Pickering shows how Durkheim's position developed and explains the themes and theories that run through Durkheim's work. This includes Durkheim's attitude towards secularisation and Christian churches, as well as his notion of the contemporary cult of the individual.

About this title

About the Author:

The Revd Dr William S.F. Pickering has been an Anglican priest since 1950, and for twenty years was a lecturer in Sociology at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He is currently the General Secretary of the British Centre for Durkheimian Studies, which he helped to found in 1991. It is based in the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Oxford University. He has written and edited a number of books on Durkheim and his followers, as well as many articles. Among his other publications are Durkheim: Essays on Morals and Education (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978). Sociology and Theology: Alliance and Conflict (Harvester Press, 1980), A Social History of the Diocese of Newcastle 1882-1982 (Oriel Press, 1981) and The Hutterites (Ward Lock Educational, 1982).

Review:

"...The book represents a comprehensive analysis of Durkheim's sociology of religion, which makes it a must-read for scholars and students of sociology and sociology of religion..." (Margarita Simon Guillory Religious Studies Review, Vol. 38, number 3, September 2012)

Durkheim’s works inspired by the scientific canons of sociological methodology, laid the foundation for the understanding of the multiple influences of community and society on individual behaviour and practices. Thus, it is understandable why it is exceptionally difficult to concentrate such a great legacy in a single study, which makes Dr Pickering’s work considerably consistent and unique. (Ramona Hosu Journal for the Study of Religious and Ideologies, vol.8, issue 25 (Spring))

About this edition

• Publisher: Lutterworth Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0227172973
• ISBN 13: 9780227172971
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 577