Overview
Researching Religion: Why We Need Social Science establishes the relevance of social science for the study of religion and promotes a particular kind of social science. Even if we confine ourselves to academic disciplines, there are very many ways of viewing religion. Certain kinds of questions about religion can only be answered by the methods and approaches of social science: if one is interested in the social causes and consequences of religious belief and behaviour, then one has to do social science. Steve Bruce underlines the value of quantitative social research. He shows that while detailed ethnographies have enormous value in helping us get 'inside' religious belief and behaviour, they are severely limited by problems of scale and representativeness in their value for generating and testing explanations. While the primary focus is social research, the examples are drawn from studies of religious belief and behaviour, so it also presents a very large number of important observations about the nature of religion in the modern world. This book is an informative, concise reference for students trying to unpick quantitative religious research. It shows how to gather valuable research and avoid pitfalls.
Full Product Details
Author: Steve Bruce (Professor of Sociology, Professor of Sociology, University of Aberdeen)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 14.30cm
, Height: 2.20cm
, Length: 22.40cm
Weight: 0.436kg
ISBN: 9780198786580
ISBN 10: 0198786581
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 06 September 2018
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
Bruce is strongest when he addresses the role of theory, which is not surprising given his substantial and important contributions in this area. Given its content and approach, and because Bruce aims to help others avoid pitfalls and problems he himself encountered during his career, the book is most appropriate for scholars engaged in the study of religion. Summing up: Recommended * CHOICE *
Author Information
Steve Bruce is Professor of Sociology at the University of Aberdeen. His previous publications include Secular Beats Spiritual: The Westernization of the Easternization of the West (2017), Secularization: In Defence of an Unfashionable Theory (2013), Paisley: Religion and Politics in Northern Ireland (2007), Sociology: A Very Short Introduction (2000), and Choice and Religion: A Critique of Rational Choice Theory (1999). He is also the editor of Bryan R. Wilson's Religion in Secular Society: Fifty Years On (2016).
