Sociology of Religion References
Books
The book by Kelly proved controversial in sociology of religion
and has sparked off much work to prove or disprove the thesis. The
works by Berger and Wallace represent the older paradigm of sociology
of religion, embracing secularisation theory - that as society advances
religion becomes less important. The works by Stark are representative
of the new paradigm which seeks to understand why religion succeeds
even in "advanaced" countries.
Berger P. (1969), The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological
Theory of Religion, Anchor NY. Berger P. (1970), A Rumour of Angels: Modern Society and the
Rediscovery of the Supernatural, Anchor NY. Fink R. and Stark R. (1992), The Churching of America 1776-1990:
Winners and Losers in our Religious Economy, Rutgers University
Press. Kelly D. (1986), Why Conservative Churches are Growing: A Study
in the Sociology of Religion. Mercer University Press. Stark R. (1996), The Rise of Christianity, Princeton University
Press. Stark R and Bainbridge W.S. (1987), Theory of Religion, Rutgers
University Press. Stark R. and Bainbridge W.S. (1985), The Future of Religion,
University of California Press.
Wallace A.F.C. (1966), Religion: An Anthropological View, New
York Random House.
Papers
The paper by Inskeep gives an account of the two strands
of church growth: the academic side relying on sociology; and thepractitioners
side pursued within the churches for their own advnacement. The
paper by Warner spells out the new paradigm in the sociology of
religion taking it away from secularisation theory.
Iannaccone L.R. (1992) Religious Markets and the Economics of
Religion, Social Compass, 39 (1), 123-131. Iannaccone L.R. (1994), Why Strict Churches are Strong, American
Journal of Sociology, 99(5), 1180-1211. Iannaccone L.R., Olson P. and Stark R. (1995), Religious Resources
and Church Growth, Social Forces, Vol 74(2), 705-731. Inskeep K.W. (1993), A Short History of Church Growth Research,
in ``Church and Denominational Growth'', edited by Roozen D.A.
and Hadaway C.K., (1993), 135-148. Olson D.V.A. (1989), Church Friendships: Boon or Barrier to
Church Growth?, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion,
28(4), 432-447. Stark R. and Iannaccone L.R. (1994), A Supply Side Re-Interpretation
of the ``Secularisation'' of Europe. Journal for the Scientific
Study of Religion 33 (3), 230-252. Warner R.S. (1993), Work in Progress toward a New Paradigm for
the Sociological Study of Religion in the United States, American
Journal of Sociology 98 (5), 1044-93.
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