Sociology of Religion

Catalog description

Examines religion through a sociological lens to understand the religious aspects of society and the social aspects of religion. Covers concepts, theories, and research on such topics as the major religious traditions, rituals, culture war, cults, conversion, secularization, atheism, religious violence, religious nationalism, church-state relations, and civil religion. Students will have opportunities to identify multiple ways that religion is present in social life; articulate the social aspects of religion using sociological theories; explain the ways that religion interacts with other social processes such as demographic change, gender, politics, and social movements; and evaluate different types of data about religion. Students will use empirical evidence, dialogue, and self-experience to foster an informed perspective on the social significance of religion.