Religion on the Edge: De-centering and Re-centering the Sociology of Religion

by Courtney Bender (Editor), Wendy Cadge (Editor), Peggy Levitt (Editor), David Smilde (Editor)

Overview

The thirteen essays in this volume challenge conventional scholarly approaches to the sociology of religion. They urge readers to look beyond congregational settings, beyond the United States, and to religions other than Christianity, and encourage critical engagement with religion's complex social consequences. Religion on the Edge offers groundbreaking new methodologies and models, bringing to light conceptual lacunae, re-centering what is unsettled by their use, and inviting a significant reordering of long-accepted political and economic hierarchies. The book shows how social scientists across the disciplines can engage with the sociology of religion. By challenging many of its long-standing empirical and analytic tendencies, the contributors to this volume show how their work informs and is informed by debates in other fields and the analytical purchase gained by bringing these many conversations together. Religion on the Edge will be a crucial resource for any scholar seeking to understand our post-modern, post-secular world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199938643
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/21/2012
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 6.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Courtney Bender is Associate Professor of Religion at Columbia University.

Wendy Cadge is Associate Professor of Sociology at Brandeis University.

Peggy Levitt is a Professor of Sociology at Wellesley College and Co-Director of the Transnational Studies Initiative at Harvard University.

David Smilde is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Georgia and Senior Fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Contributors
Religion on the Edge: An Introduction
Courtney Bender, Wendy Cadge, Peggy Levitt, David Smilde

Part I. Rethinking Categories: Theoretical Approaches
1. Grappling with the Legacy of Modernity: Implications for the Sociology of Religion
Manuel A. Vásquez
2. Beyond Cultural Autonomy in the Sociological Study of Religion
David Smilde
3. Toward a Comparative Historical Sociology of Religious Politics
Ates Altinordu
4. Religious Self-Constitution: A Relational Perspective
Michal Pagis
5. Studying Public Religion: Beyond the Beliefs-Driven Actor
Paul Lichterman
6. Pluralism and Secularism
Courtney Bender
7. Religion on the Move: Mapping Global Cultural Production and Consumption
Peggy Levitt

Part II. Exemplary Cases: Empirical Examinations
8. Difficult Dialogues: The Technologies and Limits of Reconciliation
Dawne Moon
9. Negotiating Religious Differences in Secular Organizations: The Case of Hospital Chapels
Wendy Cadge
10. The Meaning and Challenges of Pluralism in Quebec: Debating ''Reasonable Accommodation''
Geneviève Zubrzycki
11. Revisiting Religious Power: The Korean Evangelical Church as a Disciplinary Institution Kelly H. Chong
12. Crossing Borders: Transnational Sanctuary, Social Justice, and the Church
Jacqueline Hagan
13. Conclusion: Working the Edges

Index

Editorial Reviews

"This is an important, indeed a crucial book." —Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

"These smart, provocative essays are 'critical' in the best sense of that word. They engage seriously with core debates, concepts, and presuppositions in the sociological study of religion and point to new directions that may avoid the problems of current approaches and encompass a wider range of empirical cases. Well-written and insightful, this is a must-read for established scholars of religion and for graduate students as well."—Penny Edgell, author of Religion and Family in a Changing Society

"RotE is a must-read for scholars in the sociology of religion. It should be required reading for any graduate-level seminar in the scientific study of religion as well as religious studies programs. The book will help to sharpen the analytic work of a new generation of scholars." —Sociology of Religion

From the Publisher