Sociology || Introduction to sociology

What is religion?  For most people, this is a simple question which hardly merits deep thought. Religions are commonly defined by a belief in God or gods and perhaps an after- life, but they also involve worship in religious buildings such as chapels, synagogues or mosques and doing 'religious things' such as praying and eating or not eating certain food- stuffs. However, for sociologists of religion trying to set limits to their field of study, reach- ing general agrcement on such a basic matter has proved extraordinarily difficult. Indeed, Aldridge (2007: 30) argues that 'Religion is a contested concept. We cannot expect to agree on a definition and then debate matters of substance, since matters of substance are built into any definition. There is not, and never will be, a universally agreed definition of religion. But why not?  One reason is that sociology contains a plurality of general theoretical perspectives, and these differ in how they construe the natu...

Theoretical traditions in sociology As we have seen, the classical founders of sociology Durkheim, Marx and Weber adopted different approaches to their studies. Durkheim emphasized the coercive strength of social forces in generating shared values and consensus. Marx also saw social structures as highly significant, but argued that conflict and inequality were endemic in all societies. On the other hand, Max Weber focused attention on the meaningful character of social life and the social actions of individuals. These basic differ- ences have persisted throughout the history of sociology, developing into three broad socio- logical traditions of enquiry: functionalism (Durkheim), conflict theory (Marx) and social action or 'interactionist' approaches (Weber). Some of the major trades and economic transactions today take place on the stock market in highly rationalized format, with little or none of the personal interaction which would have been common in bartering and ...