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 mirity 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.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Polity Press
ISBN-10
0745653472
ISBN-13
9780745653471
eBay Product ID (ePID)
138855542
Product Key Features
Author
Dr. Alan Aldridge
Format
Paperback
Language
English
Subject
Sociology & Anthropology: Professional
Type
Textbook
Dimensions
Weight
416g
Height
229mm
Width
154mm
Additional Product Features
Place of Publication
Oxford
Spine
20mm
Author Biography
Alan Aldridge Is Former Reader in the Sociology of Culture at the University of Nottingham.