Unit information: Sociology of Religion in 2010/11

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Unit name Sociology of Religion
Unit code SOCI30060
Credit points 20
Level of study H/6
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director Dr. Flanagan
Open unit status Not open
Pre-requisites

None
Co-requisites

None
School/department School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies
Faculty Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

The unit examines sociological approaches to the significance of religion in the contemporary culture of industrialised societies. Drawing also on anthropological and theological perspectives, it considers the nature of religious belief and practice and their relation to questions of the self and identity. Topics include debates on secularisation, pluralism, ritual, symbol and charisma.

Unit Aims:

  • to highlight the distinctive contribution sociology makes to understanding religion and religiosity
  • to set religion in the context of anthropology and theology and to relate these approaches to sociological notions of belief and practice
  • to address the wider cultural significance of religion to show the relationship between religion, modernity and postmodernity

Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:

  • demonstrate nuanced awareness of the sociological complexity of religion and religiosity
  • understand how sociology deals with issues of belief, their cultural significance and institutional settings of practice
  • critically apply appropriate methodologies for the study of religious practice
  • make detailed and appropriate use of empirical case studies to illustrate their arguments

Teaching Information

Option 1 – A 1hr lecture and 2 hour seminar

Option 2 – A 3 hr seminar

Assessment Information

Essay 100%

Reading and References

Inger Furseth and Pal Repstad, An Introduction to the Sociology of Religion: Classical and Contemporary Perspectives, Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006

Danièle Hervieu-Léger, Religion as a Chain of Memory, Polity Press, 2000

Stephen Hunt, Religion in Western World, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.

Lorne L. Dawson and Douglas E. Cowan, eds., Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet, Bew York: Routledge, 2004

Related links