Overview

What role does religion play in society? Is religion and religiosity decreasing, increasing, or just changing? How does religion relate to other important institutions in society, such as politics, race, gender and sexuality? How can we understand variation in religious participation and belief? When, why and how does religious change happen? These are some of the questions we will be addressing this semester. The course begins with classical theories in the sociology of religion, and then turns to an overview of the current theories and empirical realities of religion in the US today. I have three goals for the course. My first goal is to give students a comprehensive overview of theories and research in the sociology of religion. My second goal is to help students gain an understanding of how to engage theory with empirical work. My final goal for the course is to understand the ways in which the methodological decisions and research designs of the studies we examine help or hinder the research findings and implications.

Syllabus

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