Sociology of Religion

The sociology of religion studies religion as a social phenomenon — its forms, functions, and transformations, and its relation to other institutions and to social change.

Scope

It covers religion and social integration, religious organizations and movements, secularization, and the relation of religion to economy, politics, and modernity.

Core questions

• What social functions does religion serve?
• How does religion relate to social order and change?
• Is modernity inherently secularizing?
• How do religious organizations form and evolve?
• How does religion shape economic and political life?

Key concepts

• Sacred and profane
• Social solidarity
• Protestant ethic
• Secularization
• Religious organization
• Civil religion

Key theories

Religion and social solidarity

Durkheim argued religion expresses and reinforces social solidarity, with the sacred/profane distinction at its core.

Religion and economic ethics

Weber linked the Protestant ethic to the spirit of capitalism, showing religion's effects on economic conduct.

Plausibility and secularization

Berger analysed religion as a socially constructed 'sacred canopy' and theorized secularization (a thesis he later revised).

History

Founded by Durkheim and Weber, the sociology of religion developed the secularization thesis mid-century (Berger, Wilson), which has since been heavily debated amid religious resurgence, the rise of religious markets theory, and global Pentecostalism.

Debates

Is modernity secularizing?

The classical secularization thesis is contested by evidence of persistent and resurgent religion worldwide.

Key figures

• Émile Durkheim
• Max Weber
• Peter Berger

Seminal works

• durkheim-1912
• weber-1905
• berger-1967

Frequently asked questions

What is the secularization thesis?

The claim that modernization leads to the declining social significance of religion — influential but increasingly contested.