Complex Religion: Interrogating Assumptions of Independence in the Study of Religion
Religion deeply intersects with race, ethnicity, and class in the United States. In many cases, these “variables” cannot be separated. In other words, religion’s relationship to other social structures is “complex”—a term which I borrow from a body of literature known as “complex inequality.” If we...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Oxford Univ. Press
[2018]
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In: |
Sociology of religion
Year: 2018, Volume: 79, Issue: 3, Pages: 287-298 |
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Religious sociology
/ Science of Religion
/ Religion
/ Interdependence
/ Group
/ Social environment
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Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
Summary: | Religion deeply intersects with race, ethnicity, and class in the United States. In many cases, these “variables” cannot be separated. In other words, religion’s relationship to other social structures is “complex”—a term which I borrow from a body of literature known as “complex inequality.” If we accept this complexity, then a central question arises: what are we doing looking for independent effects of religion? Asking this question does not imply that religion is not worth studying sociologically. It also does not mean that we cannot figure out when and how religion matters on its own. But it does mean that we have some work to do—especially on our research designs and methods—if we want to understand religion in all of its complexity. |
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ISSN: | 1759-8818 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociology of religion
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/socrel/srx047 |