| The Future of Religion: Secularization, Revival and Cult Formation Contributor(s): Stark, Rodney (Author), Bainbridge, William Sims (Author) |
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ISBN: 0520057317 ISBN-13: 9780520057319 Publisher: University of California Press OUR PRICE: $41.53 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: January 1986 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Philosophy - Religion | Comparative Religion |
| Dewey: 200 |
| LCCN: 83018221 |
| Physical Information: 1.39" H x 6.02" W x 9.04" (1.90 lbs) 600 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Religion is alive and well in the modern world, and the social-scientific study of religion is undergoing a renaissance. For much of this century, respected social theorists predicted the death of religion as inevitable consequence of science, education, and modern economics. But they were wrong. Stark and Bainbridge set out to explain the survival of religion. Using information derived from numerous surveys, censuses, historical case studies, and ethnographic field expeditions, they chart the full sweep of contemporary religion from the traditional denominations to the most fervent cults. This wealth of information is located within a coherent theoretical framework that examines religion as a social response to human needs, both the general needs shared by all and the desires specific to those who are denied the economic rewards or prestige enjoyed by the privileged. By explaining the forms taken by religions today, Stark and Bainbridge allow us to understand its persistence in a secular age and its prospects for the future, |