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Informationen zum Autor Alan Aldridge is former reader in the sociology of culture at the University of Nottingham. Klappentext In the new edition of this widely praised text, Alan Aldridge examines the complex realities of religious belief, practice and institutions. Religion is a powerful and controversial force in the contemporary world, even in supposedly secular societies. Almost all societies seek to cultivate religions and faith communities as sources of social stability and engines of social progress. They also try to combat real and imagined abuses and excess, regulating cults that brainwash vulnerable people, containing fundamentalism that threatens democracy and the progress of science, and identifying terrorists who threaten atrocities in the name of religion.The third edition has been carefully revised to make sure it is fully up to date with recent developments and debates. Major themes in the revised edition include the recently erupted 'culture war' between progressive secularists and conservative believers, the diverse manifestations of 'fundamentalism' and their impact on the wider society, new individual forms of religious expression in opposition to traditional structures of authority, and the backlash against 'multiculturalism' with its controversial implications for the social integration of ethnic and religious minority communities. Impressive in its scholarly analysis of a vibrant and challenging aspect of human societies, the third edition will appeal strongly to students taking courses in the sociology of religion and religious studies, as well as to everyone interested in the place of religion in the contemporary world. Zusammenfassung In the new edition of this widely praised text, Alan Aldridge examines the complex realities of religious belief, practice and institutions. Religion is a powerful and controversial force in the contemporary world, even in supposedly secular societies. Inhaltsverzeichnis Preface to the Third Edition viii Acknowledgements x 1 Defining Religion: Social Confl icts and Sociological Debates 1 Scientology: authentic religion or imposture? 3 Baha'i: world faith or apostasy? 7 Religion and the state 8 Advantages of being recognized as a religion 13 Disadvantages of status as a religion 17 Defining people as religious 20 Max Weber: on not defining religion 22 Émile Durkheim: defining religion sociologically 24 Contemporary sociological definitions of religion 26 A Wittgensteinian approach 30 Further reading 34 2 Secularization: The Social Insignifi cance of Religion? 35 Karl Marx and the projection theory of religion 35 Émile Durkheim and the social functions of religion 38 Max Weber and the disenchantment of the world 41 Defining secularization 49 Secularization from within 50 Decline of community 52 Marginalization of charisma 54 Cultural amnesia 56 Pluralization, relativism and consumer choice 57 Reason, rationality and science 59 A consensus on dystopia? 64 Further reading 64 3 Secularization Challenged: A New Paradigm? 66 A secularization theorist recants 66 A new paradigm 67 Voluntarism according to Talcott Parsons 69 The demand for religion: a rational choice? 73 The supply of religion: the benefi ts of competition? 75 Strict churches and free-riders 80 The Mormons: a new world faith? 83 Jehovah's Witnesses: overcoming the failure of prophecy 88 The new paradigm and the rise of the megachurches 91 The Pentecostals 93 Further reading 95 4 Dangerous Religions? Sects, Cults and Brainwashing 97 Classifying Christian movements 97 New religious movements 101 Dynamics of change 107 The rise of 'brainwash...
