Nine theories of religion / Daniel L. Pals.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pals, Daniel L., author.

Standardized Title:

Seven theories of religion

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Religion--Study and teaching--History.

Religion.

Religion--Study and teaching.

History.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

ix, 374 pages ; 21 cm

Edition:

Third edition.

Place of Publication:

New York ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, [2015]

Summary:

Why do human beings believe in divinities? Why do some seek eternal life, while others seek escape from recurring lives? Why do the beliefs and behaviors we typically call "religious" so deeply affect the human personality and so subtly weave their way through human society? Revised and updated this third edition, Nine Theories of Religion considers how these fundamental questions have engaged the most important thinkers of the modern era. Accessible, systematic, and succinct, in considers the Victorian anthropology of E. B. Tylor and J. G. Frazer, the "reductionist" social science of Sigmund Freud, Émile Durkheim, and Karl Marx, the non-reductionist approaches of Max Weber, William James, and Mircea Eliade, and the alternative paradigms that have arisen from the work of E. E. Evans-Pritchard and Clifford Geertz. The third edition features a new chapter on William James. Each chapter offers biographical background, theoretical exposition, conceptual analysis, and critical assessment. Ideal as a supplementary text in introductory religion courses or as the main text in theory and method in religious studies or in sociology of religion courses, Nine Theories of Religion, Third Edition, offers an illuminating treatment of this controversial and fascinating subject. It can be used as a stand-alone text or with the author's companion reader, Introducing Religion: Reading from the Classic Theorists. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Animism and Magic / E. B. Tylor Tylor, E. B., J. G.Frazer G.Frazer, J. 15

2 Religion and Personality / Sigmund Freud Freud, Sigmund 49

3 Society as Sacred / Émile Durkheim Durkheim, Émile 81

4 Religion as Aliensation / Karl Marx Marx, Karl 113

5 A Source of Social Action / Max Weber Weber, Max 143

6 The Verdict of Religious Experience / William James James, William 185

7 The Reality of the Sacred / Mircea Eliade Eliade, Mircea 227

8 Society's "Construct of the Heart" / E. E.Evans-Pritchard E.Evans-Pritchard, E. 263

9 Religion as Cultural System / Clifford Geertz Geertz, Clifford 293

10 Conclusion 325.

Notes:

Revised edition of: Eight theories of religion. 2006.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780199859092

0199859094

OCLC:

896787151