The Dimensions of Religiosity
The multidimensional approach to the sociology of religion has been heralded as “one of the most significant advances of the past two decades.” However, it suffers from a grave lack of precision in its concepts, e.g., belief, creed, experience, practice, etc. On the one hand, it supposes various dim...
| Published in: | Sociological analysis |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
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| Published: |
1980
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| In: |
Sociological analysis
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The multidimensional approach to the sociology of religion has been heralded as “one of the most significant advances of the past two decades.” However, it suffers from a grave lack of precision in its concepts, e.g., belief, creed, experience, practice, etc. On the one hand, it supposes various dimensions, such as cult, knowledge and creed where there exists only one dimension of religion, viz., faith, and its various composites such as ritual and doctrine. The results of this confusion are high coefficients of correlation which suggest that there is really only one dimension. The other fundamental shortcoming is the failure to distinguish between the domain of subjective values, ideals and commitments (viz., solidarity, ideology and morality) on the one side and objective, value-neutral culture systems (viz., the arts, sciences and religion) on the other side. In this case, as the two domains tend to cancel each other out, results remain insignificant and inconclusive. In addition, each dimension is marked by polar opposites, or “pattern variables”, which delimit the alternatives between which the individual has to choose such as mysticism and asceticism, empiricism and rationalism, conservatism and radicalism, etc. It is the combinations of alternatives from various dimensions which constitute clusters such as the “Protestant” and the “Catholic” ethic. |
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| ISSN: | 2325-7873 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociological analysis
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3709855 |