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Religious Studies & Theology vocabulary · Study of Religion

Sociology of religion

Meaning in religious studies & theology, with examples

nounCommon term

In religious studies & theology, sociology of religion means: The branch of sociology that studies religion as a social phenomenon: how it shapes, and is shaped by, groups, institutions, power and social change.

In Turkish: din sosyolojisi

How it is used

Its classic founders are Durkheim, Weber and, more critically, Marx. Typical topics are secularization, conversion, new religious movements, religion and politics, and religion among migrants. In Turkish theology faculties it is the department of Din Sosyolojisi.

Example sentences

  1. Durkheim's study of totemism is a founding text of the sociology of religion.

  2. Her doctorate in the sociology of religion examined how young people in Istanbul relate to mosque communities.

Common collocations

  • classical sociology of religion
  • a sociologist of religion
  • sociology of religion and theology
  • secularizationThe process by which religion loses influence over society, institutions and individual lives, for example as law, education and politics become independent of religious authority.
  • religious studiesAn academic field that studies religions from the outside, using methods from history, sociology, anthropology, psychology and philosophy, without judging which beliefs are true.
  • phenomenology of religionAn approach to studying religion that describes religious phenomena as believers experience them, while setting aside the question of whether their claims are true.
  • convertTo change from one religion or belief to another, or to cause someone else to make this change.

More terms: Study of Religion

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