Religion in Sociological Perspective

• The open systems approach of previous editions has been reframed to present the sociology of religion as an ongoing conversation between past and present scholars, highlighting the continuous and ongoing development of the field.

• Each chapter connects students to resources in the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) to explore issues raised in the chapter— enabling instructors to create an active, problem-solving learning environment.
  
  
• A new standalone chapter on Sexualities allows for fuller treatment of that topic.
  
  
• The expanded chapter on Gender includes new coverage of women’s and men’s roles, and considerations beyond the male/female gender binary.
  
  
• Several new “Illustrating Sociological Concepts” boxes provide extended case studies of particular sociological ideas, and new “Doing Research on Religion” boxes highlight the process by which the findings conveyed in the textbook come into being.
  
  
• “Conclusion and Looking Forward” and “Concluding Question(s)” sections added to every chapter, encourage students to look beyond the material presented and contribute to the ongoing dialogue.
  
  
• Survey data has been updated whenever possible, nearly 300 new sources are referenced, and almost half of all photos/illustrations are new to this edition.
  
  
• The presentation has been streamlined reducing the length by 20% shorter compared to the Sixth Edition.

KEY FEATURES:

• Throughout the book, the authors analyze the contributions and blind spots of each theory and emphasize the relationship between research methods and findings.
  
  
• The authors seek to convey the perspective from which sociologists view religion, and to be illustrative rather than all-encompassing.
  
  
• Throughout the book, the authors describe the contributions of various theoretical perspectives (conflict, functional, social constructionist, rational choice); discuss the limitations of each theory; and integrate the various theories into an overarching framework, the open systems model, which stresses both structure and dynamic process.
  
  
• By providing a comprehensive, up-to-date, readable textbook along with hundreds of active-learning strategies, sample syllabi, online learning resources connected to the Association of Religion Data Archives (The ARDA), and a test bank, provides instructors with everything they need to teach the sociology of religion for the first or fiftieth time.