Unit information: Sociology of Religion in 2012/13

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Unit name Sociology of Religion
Unit code SOCI20023
Credit points 20
Level of study I/5
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.

Aims:

1. to highlight the distinctive contribution sociology makes to understanding religion and religiosity

2. to set religion in the context of anthropology and theology and to relate these approaches to sociological notions of belief and practice

3. to address the wider cultural significance of religion to show the relationship between religion, modernity and postmodernity

Intended Learning Outcomes

  1. Demonstrate nuanced awareness of the sociological complexity of religion and religiosity
  2. Understand how sociology deals with issues of belief, their cultural significance and institutional settings of practice
  3. Critically apply appropriate methodologies for the study of religious practice
  4. Make detailed and appropriate use of empirical case studies to illustrate their arguments

Teaching Information

2 hours of lectures and 1 hour seminar.

Assessment Information

Both formative and summative essays or equivalent address learning outcomes 1-4.

Reading and References

  • Inger Furseth and Pal Repstad, An Introduction to the Sociology of Religion: Classical and Contemporary Pespectives, Aldershot: Ashgate 2006.
  • Kieran Flanagan and Peter C. Jupp, eds., A Sociology of Spirituality, Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007.
  • Hans Joas and Klaus Wiegandt, eds., Secularization and the World Religions, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2009.
  • Giuseppe Giordan, ed., Conversion in the Age of Pluralism, Leiden: Brill, 2009.
  • Terry Eagleton, On Evil, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010.
  • Anthony J. Carroll, Protestant Modernity: Weber, Secularisation and Protestantism, Scranton: Scranton University Press, 2007.

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