Empirical Studies in the Sociology of Religion: An Assessment of the Past Ten Years
The empirical study of religion has made progress in the past decade; nevertheless, there are reasons why this progress was not greater and why the prognosis for the next decade is not as optimistic as the assessment of past accomplishments. A review of empirical studies over the past ten years asse...
| Published in: | Sociological analysis |
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| Authors: | ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
1970
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| In: |
Sociological analysis
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The empirical study of religion has made progress in the past decade; nevertheless, there are reasons why this progress was not greater and why the prognosis for the next decade is not as optimistic as the assessment of past accomplishments. A review of empirical studies over the past ten years assesses what they have accomplished in investigating: (1 ) the structure or dimensionality of religion, (2) religious beliefs, (3) religious behavior, (4) the nature and dynamics of religious beliefs, and (5) religious institutions as complex organizations. However, in spite of advancing understanding of these aspects of religion, sociologists who have devoted themselves to empirical study have frequently been impeded by resistance from religionists, suspicion from their fellow sociologists, and little support from funding agencies. The attitudes of these three important reference groups toward empirical study of religion are examined, and the possibilities of their coming to regard study of religion more favorably are assessed. Finally, it is suggested that a shift of emphasis from the study of religion to the broader study of values would bring sociologists closer to the critical problems of a society and world in turmoil. |
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| ISSN: | 2325-7873 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociological analysis
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3710642 |