Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of contents -- Preface -- Part I Mapping the field -- Chapter 1 What is a sociology of religion? -- Inventing sociology -- Materialism and the social -- From material to meaning -- Durkheim and the social collective -- The function of religion -- Notes -- Indicative reading -- Chapter 2 How do we know what we know? -- Introduction -- Religion is 'man' made -- Questioning the questioner -- Sociology of religion and ethnography -- Asking questions -- Surveys -- Ethics and method -- Note -- Indicative reading -- Chapter 3 The contemporary religious landscape: Retreat, reinvention and resurgence -- Introduction -- Retreat -- Reinvention -- New religious movements -- Resurgence -- Notes -- Indicative reading -- Part II Religion and its publics -- Chapter 4 Politics and religion -- Introduction -- Locating the study of politics and religion -- At stake is the state: sharing the load -- Religion and nationalism -- Religion and politics by census -- Notes -- Indicative reading -- Chapter 5 Violence and crime -- Introduction -- Defining religious violence -- Religious genocide -- Religious terrorism -- Suicide bombing -- Religious response to crime -- Creating the criminal subject -- Note -- Indicative reading -- Chapter 6 Policing religion: Religious equality, social justice and the law -- Introduction -- What are 'human rights'? -- The public, the private: are human rights sacred? -- The role of the state in human rights -- Human rights and religion: case examples -- Right to education -- Right to work with religious beliefs -- Courts compared: the ECHR and Supreme Court (USA) -- The right to rights -- 'Rights' and the conservative/liberal divide -- Note -- Indicative reading -- Part III Contested borders -- Chapter 7 Gender and sexuality -- Introduction.
"The first sociology of religion textbook to begin the task of diversifying and decolonizing the study of religion, Sociology of Religion develops a sociological frame that draws together the personal, political and public, showing how religion - its origins, development and changes - is understood as a social institution, influenced by and influencing wider social structures. Organized along sociological structures and themes, the book works with examples from a variety of religious traditions and regions rather than focusing in depth on a selection, and foregrounds cultural practice-based understandings of religion. It is therefore a textbook about 'religion', not 'religions', that explores the relationship of religion with gender and sexuality, crime and violence, generations, politics and media, 'race', ethnicity and social class, disease and disability - highlighting the position of religion in social justice and equality. Each chapter of this book is framed around concrete case studies from a variety of Western and non-Western religious traditions. Students will benefit from thinking about the discipline across a range of geographical and religious contexts. The book includes features designed to engage and inspire students
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