Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments - Softcover

Christiano, Kevin J.; Swatos, William H., Jr.; Kivisto, Peter

9780759100350: Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0759100357 ISBN 13: 9780759100350

Publisher: AltaMira Press, 2001

Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments charts changes in the sociology of religion without ignoring the continuing relevance of Weber, Durkheim, and Marx. Veteran sociologists Christiano, Swatos, and Kivisto address both the foundations and the profound changes in the field, placing new conceptions against their historical background. Charts, pictures, down-to-earth examples, and a readable style keep the history and new developments within the reach of undergraduates. Instructors who want to give their students a current and comprehensive overview of the field should take a look at Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments.

Visit Kevin Christiano's web page

Learn more about Peter Kivisto at the Augustana College Sociology Department page

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About the Author:

Kevin J. Christiano is associate professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame. Over two decades he has published research on such subjects as religion and the family, church membership and labor activism, Roman Catholics among immigrants to the United States, and American denominations at the turn of the last century.

William H. Swatos, Jr., is executive director of the Association for the Sociology of Religion and of the Religious Research Association. His concentrations include secularization, church-sect theory, religion and slave-master relations in the antebellum South, Icelandic spirituality, family and sexuality and social theory. He also holds a degree in theology and is an Episcopal priest. Bill is editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Religion and Society (AltaMira Pres).

Peter Kivisto is currently professor and chair of sociology at Augustana College, where he has taught for twenty years. Peter teaches courses in social theory, race and ethnicity, and crime, as well as introductory sociology and has written or edited texts in most of these areas.

Review:

This book is well-conceived and will make an important contribution to the teaching of sociology of religion. It is timely and interesting, and is substantially different than other currently available texts on the sociology of religion. This book gives much more attention to ethnicity, social class, gender, and social change and I really like the chapter on the media and religion. I will definitely use this in my undergraduate classes. (Penny Becker)

I am very impressed with Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments. This volume provides a thorough treatment of sociological theories of religion and discusses an array of important conceptual issues in the field. (Bartkowski, John)

I welcome the arrival of Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments. A new textbook in the sociology of religion is long overdue. This text covers all of the most important contemporary issues in the field, reminds us of some less appreciated topics (material culture, boundary issues), and brings in a host of novel historical materials as well. Undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty alike will find gems of insight into the place of religion in society throughout this textbook.... (David A. Yamane)

. . . this excellent book may well be the best text on the sociology of religion in print. (Teaching Sociology)

Finally, a sociology of religion textbook that presents theories and data about contemporary religion, both in the U.S. and globally, in ways that will grip the imaginations and life experiences of students....A long awaited textbook that combines cutting-edge theories with rich descriptions of contemporary changes in religion, both in the U.S. and globally... A textbook that challenges students to use sociological theories to think about some of the cutting edge issues in religion today. (Ebaugh, Helen Rose)

I welcome the arrival of Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments. A new textbook in the sociology of religion is long overdue. This text covers all of the most important contemporary issues in the field, reminds us of some less appreciated topics (material culture, boundary issues), and brings in a host of novel historical materials as well. Undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty alike will find gems of insight into the place of religion in society throughout this textbook. (David A. Yamane)

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