010124 SE Introduction to the Sociology of Religion (2021S)

What is religion and how can we study it? The course provides answers to these questions from a sociological perspective. The students will be introduced to the historical context in which sociology of religion was established, the dominant historical figures, and major paradigms. We will discuss the theories of the relationship between religion and society starting in the late nineteenth/early twentieth century and then moving forward to more recent developments. We shall look at religion through the lens of classical sociological approaches which emphasise the incompatibility of the religious domain and modern society, as well as more recent sociological works in which the secularisation theory is often downplayed while new faces of religiosity, religious individualism, and spirituality are promoted. Religion will be exposed as both a source of solidarity and collective identity and as a rationale for the lasting conflicts. The question of religious reproduction that lies at the very core of the sociological inquiry will be tackled. The students will also learn to identify the place of sociology of religion among other disciplines and understand the differences between the major sociological paradigms. Finally, students will be able to apply the key sociological concepts and critically reflect upon selected sociological theories of religion.