Religion in Theory and Practice - Demystifying the Field for Burgeoning Scholars - Russell T. McCutcheon

Religion in Theory and Practice - Demystifying the Field for Burgeoning Scholars - Russell T. McCutcheon

3. The Sociology of Religion or Social Theory of Religion?

Religion in Theory and Practice - Demystifying the Field for Burgeoning Scholars - Russell T. McCutcheon

Russell T. McCutcheon [+-]
University of Alabama
Russell T. McCutcheon is University Research Professor and, for 18 years, was the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama. He has written on problems in the academic labor market throughout his 30-year career and helped to design and run Alabama’s skills-based M.A. in religion in culture. Among his recent work is the edited resource for instructors, Teaching in Religious Studies and Beyond (Bloomsbury 2024).

Description

This chapter aims to distinguish among different schools of thought within the sociology of religion, inviting readers to identify and address what can be see as significant differences among those who are interested in the so-called social dimension of religion. Originally written for a resource aimed at lower-level students, and using the work of Max Weber and Emile Durkheim as the ways into the issue, the chapter argues a far wider point, still relevant to much of the field: whether scholars merely chronicle religious expressions in day-to-day life (and thus their interactions with such other domains as politics or economics) or if, instead, we study the social and structural factors that not only cause people to be religious but, more importantly, allow some actors to claim that a subset of their mundane practices are uniquely distinct from all others.

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Citation

McCutcheon, Russell. 3. The Sociology of Religion or Social Theory of Religion?. Religion in Theory and Practice - Demystifying the Field for Burgeoning Scholars. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 32-52 Sep 2018. ISBN 9781781796832. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=34251. Date accessed: 19 Mar 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.34251. Sep 2018

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