Religion and Advanced Industrial Society
Religion and Advanced Industrial Society

Author: James A. Beckford

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-03-19

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 0429679149

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This book, first published in 1989, demonstrates that sociologists have much to gain from a strengthening of the connections between general theories about the changing character of modern western societies and specific studies of religion. It combines an exegesis of sociological classics in the study of religion, and a history of their influence upon the subject’s development; a criticism of Talcott Parson’s attempt to synthesise classical viewpoints into a single theory of modernity; a discussion of post-Parsonian theories of religion’s declining importance; and an argument that some quasi-Marxist thinkers may offer fresh insights into the place of religion in capitalist societies.

Culture Shift in Advanced Industrial Society
Culture Shift in Advanced Industrial Society

Author: Ronald Inglehart

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2018-06-05

Total Pages: 503

ISBN-13: 069118674X

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Economic, technological, and sociopolitical changes have been transforming the cultures of advanced industrial societies in profoundly important ways during the past few decades. This ambitious work examines changes in religious beliefs, in motives for work, in the issues that give rise to political conflict, in the importance people attach to having children and families, and in attitudes toward divorce, abortion, and homosexuality. Ronald Inglehart's earlier book, The Silent Revolution (Princeton, 1977), broke new ground by discovering a major intergenerational shift in the values of the populations of advanced industrial societies. This new volume demonstrates that this value shift is part of a much broader process of cultural change that is gradually transforming political, economic, and social life in these societies. Inglehart uses a massive body of time-series survey data from twenty-six nations, gathered from 1970 through 1988, to analyze the cultural changes that are occurring as younger generations gradually replace older ones in the adult population. These changes have far-reaching political implications, and they seem to be transforming the economic growth rates of societies and the kind of economic development that is pursued.

Social Theory and Religion
Social Theory and Religion

Author: James A. Beckford

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2003-08-21

Total Pages: 407

ISBN-13: 1107320100

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Many aspects of religion are puzzling these days. This 2003 book looks at ways of improving our understanding of religious change by strengthening the links between social theory and the social scientific study of religion. It clarifies the social processes involved in constructing religion and non-religion in public and private life. Taking illustrations of the importance of these boundaries from studies of secularisation, religious diversity, globalisation, religious movements and self-identity, Beckford reviews social scientific knowledge about religion and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of a wide range of theoretical attempts to account for religious change and continuity. The discussion goes in two directions. The first is towards identifying ways in which studies of religion would benefit from taking better account of themes in recent social theory. The second is towards identifying reasons for social theorists to pay more attention to the findings of empirical investigations of religion.

Apologetics without Apology
Apologetics without Apology

Author: Elaine Graham

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2017-07-19

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 1498284140

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Against many expectations, religion has not vanished from Western culture. People are troubled and fascinated in equal measure by this new visibility and are unsure whether it is right to (re)incorporate the vocabulary of faith into our common life. This unprecedented co-existence of religion and secularism is sometimes termed the "postsecular," and in this book Elaine Graham considers some of its implications for the public witness of Christianity. She argues that everyone, from church leaders, theologians, local activists, and campaigners, needs to learn again how to "speak Christian" in these contexts. They need to articulate credible theological justifications for their involvement in public life and to justify the very relevance of their faith to a culture that no longer grants automatic privilege or credence. This entails a retrieval of the ancient practice of apologetics, in order to encourage and equip Christians to defend and commend their core principles and convictions in public. This "new apologetics" involves discerning the actions of God in the world, participating in the praxis of God's mission and bearing witness in word and deed. Rather than being an adversarial or argumentative process, this is an invitation to dialogue and to the rejuvenation of our public life.

Routledge Library Editions: Sociology of Religion
Routledge Library Editions: Sociology of Religion

Author: Various

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2018-09-03

Total Pages: 5475

ISBN-13: 0429657935

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This set collects together in 19 volumes a wealth of texts on Sociology of Religion. An invaluable reference resource, it contains classic books on a wide range of topics, including: religion and violence, religion and family life, religion and society, culture and class.

Religion in Secularizing Society
Religion in Secularizing Society

Author: Loek Halman

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 1999-12

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 9004665706

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The European Values Study is a large-scale, cross-national, and longitudinal survey research program on basic human values, initiated by the European Value Systems Study Group (EVSSG) in the late 1970s, at that time an informal grouping of academics. Now, it is carried on in the setting of a foundation, using the (abbreviated) name of the group European Values Study (EVS). The EVSSG aimed at designing and conducting a major empirical study of the moral and social values underlying European social and political institutions and governing conduct. A rich academic literature has now been created around the original survey, and numerous other works have made use of the findings.

Religion, Democracy and Israeli Society
Religion, Democracy and Israeli Society

Author: Charles S. Liebman

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-11-12

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 113664900X

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First Published in 1997. The essays in this volume are revisions, in some cases substantial, to the 1995 Sherman Lectures which the author delivered at SOAS, the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London.

Religion in World Conflict
Religion in World Conflict

Author: Jonathan Fox

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-02-04

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 1317983785

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This new book tackles two crucial questions: First, how does religion in its various forms and manifestations influence world politics? Second, how will adding religion to the discourse on international relations modify our theoretical understanding? Each of these leading authors addresses different aspects of these questions in different contexts providing a diverse and multifaceted view of the topic. Susanna Pearce and Tanja Ellingsen examine the religious causes of conflict on the macro-level. Several of the contributors focus on specific conflicts. The Gaurav Ghose and Patrick James examine the Kashmir conflict from the Pakistani perspective and Carolyn James and Ozgur. Ozdamar examine it from the Indian perspective. Similarly Hillel Frisch examines the Palestinian-ISraeli conflict from the Palestinian perspective and Jonathan Rynhold examines it from the Israeli perspective. Finally, two of the authors examine other important issues. Stuart Cohen examines the evolution of the religious view of war in the Jewish tradition and Yehudit Auerbach examines whether can play a role in conflict resolution and reconciliation. These assessments deliver fascinating conclusions. This book was previously published as a Special Issue of Terrorism and Violence.

The Centrality of Religion in Social Life
The Centrality of Religion in Social Life

Author: Eileen Barker

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-11-18

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 1351893238

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James A. Beckford's work is internationally acclaimed not only in the sociology of religion, but also in other fields of the social sciences. Beckford has long been arguing that the barriers that have grown up between the different sub-disciplines should be broken down, with those specialising in religion becoming more cognisant of new theoretical developments, and sociologists in general becoming more aware of the significance of developments in the religious scene. This book is a collection of essays written in Beckford's honour, drawing on a number of religious themes that have been central to Beckford's interests, whilst also offering a significant contribution to our understanding of the wider society. A central theme is modernity (and its relation to the post-modern), and how religion affects and is affected by the dynamics of contemporary society, with the primary focus of many of the chapters being a concern with how society copes with the minority religions that have become visible with the globalising tendencies of contemporary society. The contributors, who come from America, Asia and various parts of Europe, are all internationally renowned scholars. Beckford's most important publications are listed in an Appendix and the volume opens with a short account of his contribution to sociology by Eileen Barker (the editor) and James T. Richardson.