Acts of faith : explaining the human side of religion / Rodney Stark and Roger Finke.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stark, Rodney.

Contributor:

Finke, Roger, 1954-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Religion and sociology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (352 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c2000.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Finally, social scientists have begun to attempt to understand religious behavior rather than to discredit it as irrational, ignorant, or foolish-and Rodney Stark and Roger Finke have played a major role in this new approach. Acknowledging that science cannot assess the supernatural side of religion (and therefore should not claim to do so), Stark and Finke analyze the observable, human side of faith. In clear and engaging prose, the authors combine explicit theorizing with animated discussions as they move from considering the religiousness of individuals to the dynamics of religious groups and then to the religious workings of entire societies as religious groups contend for support. The result is a comprehensive new paradigm for the social-scientific study of religion.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

Introduction: Atheism, Faith, and the Social Scientific Study of Religion

1. A New Look at Old Issues

2. Rationality and the "Religious Mind"

3. Secularization, R.I.P.

4. The Micro Foundations of Religion

5. Religious Choices: Conversion and Reaffiliation

6. Religious Group Dynamics

7. Catholic Religious Vocations: Decline and Revival

8. A Theoretical Model of Religious Economies

9. Religious Competition and Commitment: An International Assessment

10. Church-to-Sect Movements

APPENDIX: Propositions and Definitions

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 295-324) and index.

ISBN:

9786613320742

9781283320740

1283320746

9780520924345

0520924347

OCLC:

761646209