Description
Book SynopsisThe debate over the proper definition of "religion" has occupied the attention of social scientists for many years without shedding much light on the nature of religion. This volume aims to inspire a re-orientation in the way students of religion think about the task of defining religion.
Table of ContentsThe Social Scientific Attempt to Define Religion: Sacred algorithms - exchange theory of religious claims, W. Sims Bainbridge; Differentiating - the virtues of substantive definitions of religion, W.H. Swatos Jr; The implicit religiosity of the secular - a Martian perspective on the definition of religion, E.I. Bailey; Defining religion - a pluralistic approach for the global age, F. Lechner; Negotiating the secular forms of religious authority and their political consequences, E. Kopplewitz. The Social Construction of the Religious Category: The "imperial states, axial religions and the definition of religion" W. Herbrechtsmeier; Contested meanings and definitional boundaries - historicizing the sociology of religion, M. McGuire; The category "religion" and the politics of tolerance, R. McCutcheon; Defining religion in cross-national perspective: identity and difference in official conceptions, P. Beyer; Cultural context and the definition of religion - seeing with Confucian eyes, J. Spickard. Negotiating "Religion" in Everyday Life: The courts and the definition of religion in the United States and Canada - preserving the status quo through exclusion, L.G. Beaman; Baby boomers and their millennial kids - "folk" definitions of religion and their relation to culture, L. Schofield Clark; The relationship between religion and spirituality, R. Hood; Defining paganism in England and Wales, M. York.
