Introduction: Sociology and the great transformation of religion

Staf Hellemans

Chapter 1 in Understanding the Sociology of Religion, 2026, pp 1-17 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The main output of the sociology of religion dates from after 1960 and is driven on the one hand by profound changes in its object, ‘religion’, which demand new approaches, and on the other by the rise of the sociology of religion as an academic subdiscipline, with increasing numbers of scholars. First, I outline what I call the great transformation of religion. Then I survey the history of the sociology of religion in four phases. I regard the rise of the sociology of religion as an academic subdiscipline as a third phase. Next, I explain why the book focuses on concepts. Concepts should not be seen as mere terms and labels. They act as perspectives, as windows on the world and as proto-theories. The exploration in this and the following chapters of the abundance and variety of concepts will show the true breadth of the sociology of religion.

Keywords: The Great Transformation Of Religion; Classical Sociology Of Religion; Religious Sociology; Sociology Of Religion; Concepts As Perspectives (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035312009
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