Researching Religion: Why We Need Social Science

Bruce, Steve

ISBN 10: 0198786581 / ISBN 13: 9780198786580

Published by Oxford University Press, 2018

About this Item

Dark blue hardback in new condition: firm and square with bright gilt lettering. Complete with original dustjacket, neat and sharp, not showing any scuffs, tears or chips. Contents crisp, tight and clean; no pen-marks. Not from a library so no such stamps or labels. Looks and feels unread. Thus a very nice copy.

Seller Inventory # 132673

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Researching Religion: Why We Need Social Science
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198786581
• ISBN 13: 9780198786580
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: New
• Dust Jacket Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

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.

About the Author

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).