DOCSLIB.ORG

Reconstructing the Rise of Christianity: the Role of Women Author(S): Rodney Stark Source: Sociology of Religion, Vol

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Reconstructing the Rise of Christianity: the Role of Women Author(S): Rodney Stark Source: Sociology of Religion, Vol Reconstructing the Rise of Christianity: The Role of Women Author(s): Rodney Stark Source: Sociology of Religion, Vol. 56, No. 3 (Autumn, 1995), pp. 229-244 Published by: Oxford University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3711820 . Accessed: 12/11/2014 19:00 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Oxford University Press and Association for the Sociology of Religion, Inc. are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Sociology of Religion. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 132.239.54.173 on Wed, 12 Nov 2014 19:00:13 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Sociologyof Religion 1995, 56:3 229-244 The 1994 Paul Hanly FurfeyLecture Reconstructingthe Rise ofChristianity: The Role ofWomen RodneyStarkt UniversityofWashington Modernand ancient historians agree that women were especially responsive tothe early ChrisS tianmovement. Italso is agreed that women were accorded considerably higher status within Chris- tiancircles than itl thesurrouring pagan societies. In thisessay I firstexplain how these two aspects ofthe early church were connected. Then I explainhow an excessof women in the Christian subculS tures,combined with a greatexcess of males in the world around thems would have resulted ina subS stantialrate of intermamage. Firully, I show how this would have maintained early Chnstianity as an opennetwork thereby able to sustain the attachments tonon-members needed for continued growth. Intermittentlyduring the past few years I have utilized social scientific theo- riesand methods toattempt toreconstruct therise of Christianity. Mygoal is to gaina fundamentalunderstanding ofhow it all came about toexplain how a tinyand obscure messianic movement from the edge of the Roman Empire dis- lodgedclassical paganism and became the dominant faith of Western Civiliza- tion.There is no single answer to why Christianity succeeded; a whole series of factorswere involved. l hope soon to complete an integratedreconstruction of at leastthe most important ofthese factors, but meanwhile I have been pubS lishingportions of the larger project as I go along(Stark 1992, l991a, l991b, 1987,1986a, 1986b). Today's 1994 Paul Hanly Furfey Lecture continues this process.In itI shallsuggest that gender holds one of the answers to howit was done thatwomen played a critical role in the rise of Christianity. However,before any useful social scientific work can proceed on the ques- tionof how it all came about, it first isnecessary toeliminate the oldest and still- dominantexplanation that the Greco-Roman world was saved by mass con- versionsinresponse topublic preaching and miracle working. From earliest days, massconversions have been central to the Christian story: Crowds have gath- ered,listened, marveled, and been saved. Thus Acts 2:41 reports that after Peter preachedto a multitude"there were added that day about three thousand souls." t Directall carresponinceto Rodney Stark, Universiry ofWashington DK40, Seattle,WA 98195. 229 This content downloaded from 132.239.54.173 on Wed, 12 Nov 2014 19:00:13 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 230 SOCIOLOGYOF RELIGION Writingin about325, Eusebius (111 37.3) tells us that "at first hearing whole multitudesina bodyeagerly embraced intheir souls piety towards the Creator of theuniverse." That massconversions built Christianity has seemedobvious. Adolf Harnack(1908:2:335-36) put it plainly:How else can we understandthe "inconceivablerapidity" ofChristian growth and "astonishing expansion" ofthe movement?Indeed, Harnack (fn.335) reminded his readers of St. Augustine's insightthat the greatest miracle of all would have been for Christianity togrow as rapidlyas it did without the aid of miracles. Inhis distinguished recent study, ChrisiiarlitingtheRoman Empire, Ramsay MacMullen (1984:29) also stressed the arithmeticalnecessity for mass conversions. Because "very large numbers are obviouslyinvolved," Christian growth could not have been limited to an indi- vidualmode of conversion, butrequires "successes enmasse." Thisis all very troublesome because modern social science lacks any theoret icalpropositions todeal with spontaneous mass conversions. Instead, conversion isexplained by social science as theresult of interaction processes within net- worksof interpersonal attachments whereby people come to accept new faiths in responseto theirsocial ties to thosewho already believe (Lofland and Stark 1965;Stark and Bainbridge 1980, 1985, 1987; Kox, Meeus, and t'Hart 1991). Thus,from the perspective ofmodern social science, the kind of mass conver- sionsdescribed by Eusebius and accepted by historians ever since would indeed bemiraculous. And if the rise of Christianity canbe explained only by resort to miracles,then social science would seem to have little to contribute. Fortunately,the"facts" justifying the miraculous assumption were wrong. Theonly reason people believed that there was an arithmetic need for mass con- versionwas because no oneever bothered to do theactual arithmetic. I have doneso in considerable detail, taking care to verify my results with the pertinent literature(Stark 1996). A briefsummary suffices here. Thereis generalagreement among scholars that Christians inthe Greco- Romanworld numbered somewhere between 5 and 7 millionin the year 300. Howthis total was reached from a tiny starting point of, say, 1,000 Christians in theyear 40 isthe arithmetic challenge. At first glance, growth ofthis magnitude mightseem a miraculousachievement. But, suppose we assume that the Chris- tianrate of growth during this period was similar to that of the Mormon rate of growthover the past century, which has been approximately 40 percent per decade(Stark 1984, 1994). If the early Christians were able to match the Mor- mongrowth rate, then their "miracle" isfully accomplished inthe time history allows.That is, from a starting point of 1,000 Christians inthe year 40, a growth rateof 40 percentper decade (or 3.4 percentper year) results in a totalof 6,299,832Christians inthe year 300. Moreover, because compounded rates re- sultin exponential growth, there is a hugenumerical increase from slightly more than1 millionChristians inthe year 250 to morethan 6 millionin 300. This givesfurther confidence inthe projections since historians have long believed thata rapidincrease in numerical growth occurred atthis time (cf. Gager 1975). The riseof Mormonism has been very carefully documented and their growthhas been based on theconventional network processes understood by socialscience, while mass conversions tothe Mormon faith of the kind described This content downloaded from 132.239.54.173 on Wed, 12 Nov 2014 19:00:13 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions RECONSTRUCTINGTHE RISEOF CHRISTIANITY:THE ROLEOF WOMEN 23 1 byEusebius are unknown(Stark 1984, 1994; Stark and Bainbridge1985). Clearly,then, the rise of Christianity could easily have been accomplished inac- cordwith our current understanding ofwhy and how convetsion takes place and socialscience is sufficient unto the task at hand. So,let me now return to my primary thesis: that women were crucial to the successvf the Christian movement. WOMENAND CHRISTlANGROWTH Amidstcontemporary denunciations ofChristianity as patriarchal and sexS iSt, iteasily is forgottenthat the early church was so especiallyattractive to womenthat in 370 theEmperor Valentinian issued a writtenorder to Pope DamasusI requiring the Christian missionaries tocease calling at thehomes of paganwomen. Although some classical writers claimed that women were easy preyfor any "feareign superstition," most recognized that Christianity was unusuallyapFnealing because within the Christian subculture women enjoyed far higherstatus than did women in the Greco-Roman world at large(Fox 1987; Chadwick1967; Harnack 1908). Butif historians have long noteel this fact, they have made no serious efforts toexplain it. Whywere women accorded higher status in Christian circles than elsewhereinthe classical world? In whatfollows I shall attempt to linkthe in- creasedpower and privilege ofChristian women to a verymajor shift in sex ra- tios.I showthat an initialshift in sex ratios resulted from Christian doctrines prohibitinginfanticide and abortion and then show how the initial shift would havebeen amplified bya subsequenttendency tO over-recruit women. Along the wayI shallsummarize evidence from ancient sources as wellas frommodern archeologyand historical demography concerning the status of women in the earlychurch. Finally, l shall explore the relatively high rates of exogenous mar- riagesby Christian women and suggest how these would have generated many "secondary"cvnversions toChristianity. CHRISTIAN AND PAGAN SEX RATIOS Mengreatly ournumbered women in the Greco-Roman world. Cassius Dio (1987),writing inabout 200 C.E., attributed the declining population ofthe Empireto the extreme shortage offemales. In hisclassic work on ancientand medievalpopulations, J.C. Russell(1958) estimated that there were 131 males per100 females in the city of Rome and 140 males per 100 females inItaly, Asia
Load more

Recommended publications
  • CURRICULUM VITA RODNEY STARK May, 2010 Home Page
    CURRICULUM VITA RODNEY STARK May, 2010 Home page: rodneystark.com Education B.A. University of Denver, 1959, Journalism. M.A. University of California, Berkeley, 1965, Sociology. Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, 1971, Sociology. Employment Since 2004: Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences and Co-Director, Institute for Studies of Religion, Baylor University. 1971-2003: Professor of Sociology and of Comparative Religion, University of Washington. 1987-1999 Co-Founder and Director, MicroCase Corporation. 1968-1971 Research Sociologist, Center for the Study of Law and Society, University of California, Berkeley. 1961-1970 Research Assistant to Research Sociologist, Survey Research Center, University of California, Berkeley. 1959-1961 Reporter, Oakland Tribune, Oakland, California. 1957-1959 Private to Specialist 3rd Class, United States Army (promoted to Staff Sergeant in the active reserve, 1961). 1955-1956 Reporter, Denver Post, Denver, Colorado. Honors Nominee, Pulitzer Prize, 1996 (The Rise of Christianity). President, Association for the Sociology of Religion, 1982-83. 2 Chair, Section on the Sociology of Religion, American Sociological Association, 1996-97. President, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2003-04. Board Member, John Templeton Foundation, 2004-2007. Founding editor: Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion. Distinguished Book Award, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, 1986, for The Future of Religion: Secularization, Revival, and Cult Formation. Distinguished Book Award, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, 1993, for The Churching of America — 1776-1990. Distinguished Book Award, Section on the Sociology of Religion, American Sociological Association, 2001, for Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion. Award of Merit (history/biography) Christianity Today Magazine 2004: for The Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch- Hunts, and the End of Slavery.
    [Show full text]
  • Ijrr04004.Pdf
    ISSN 1556-3723 (print) Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion __________________________________________________________________ Volume 4 2008 Article 4 __________________________________________________________________ The Complexities of Comparative Research Rodney Stark* Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences Baylor University *[email protected] Copyright © 2008 Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. The Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion is freely available on the World Wide Web at http://www.religjournal.com. The Complexities of Comparative Research† Rodney Stark Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences Baylor University ABSTRACT If social science is to achieve valid universal theories, it is necessary to test them in as many different times and places as possible—hence the urgent need for more comparative research. To demonstrate this need, I review three recent instances wherein comparative research has revealed that (1) the proposition that religion functions to sustain the moral order is not universal, (2) most new religious movements are not the product of the discontent of the deprived but typically reflect the dissatisfactions of the privileged, and (3) the greater religiousness of women is not due to changes within Christianity but is a universal phenomenon. I then examine a set of pitfalls that often afflict quantitative comparative research that uses ecological or collective units of analysis such as nations or cities. Chief among these pitfalls are the ecological fallacy, cherry-picking of cases and variables, and the lack of comparability among cases.
    [Show full text]
  • Doing Field Studies of Religious Movements: an Agenda
    Doing Field Studies of Religious Movements: An Agenda SUSAN PITCHFORD CHRISTOPHER BADER RODNEY STARK Although the social scientific study of religion has seen the accumulation of numerous case studies, comparative work involving substantial numbers of cases is rare. In the absence of an accepted agenda for field research, field studies contain information relevant to the study at hand, but do not add systematically to a cumulative database. By contrast, field studies in anthropology may contain idiosyncratic information relevant to the author’s interests, but an existing research agenda defines information researchers are expected to include, which has produced an expanding cross-cultural database. In this paper, we propose elements of a research agenda for the study of religious movements, including information related to movements’ organizational history and context, mobilization, organization, governance, and outcomes. While this preliminary agenda is subject to refinement by others, it provides a starting point for the accumulation of comparable cases, and a basis for the comparative study of religious movements. Although the social scientific study of religion abounds in case studies, it is notably deficient in comparisons involving a significant number of cases. Why? Because incomparability is intrinsic to a discipline without an agenda, where field researchers go forth to observe and report whatever interests them, making no effort to add to a cumulative database. Although anthropology is also based primarily on field studies of single cases, it has long benefited from comparative analyses of the hundreds of comparable cases coded from these field studies—such superb databases as the Human Relations Area Files and the many forms and editions of the Standard Cross Cultural Sample and the Atlas of World Cultures.
    [Show full text]
  • What Have We Learned from Process Models of Conversion? an Examination of Ten Case Studies*
    What Have We Learned From Process Models Of Conversion? An Examination Of Ten Case Studies* ARTHUR L. GRElL SOCIOLOGICAL FOCUS Alfred University VoL 17 No. 4 October 1984 DAVID R. RUDY Morehead State Univerity Many attempts to understand the conversion process have been guided by Lofland and Stark's (1965) "process-modeL" We examine ten case studies of the conversion process in diverse groups in order to specify the conditions under which the Lofland·Stark model applies. Several components of the model are rejected for conceptual reasons. Other components are to be found in some types of groups but not in others. Only "formation of affective bonds with group members" and "intensive interaction with group members" seem to be indispensible prerequisites for conversion. Thus, any group which is to successfully convert people must be structured so as to foster interaction among group members. Because there is no one process·model that can accurately account for all cases of conversion, the process· model approach should be abandoned in favor of "subjective" and "organizational" approaches to understanding conversion. INTRODUCTION Over the past ten years, the sociological study of religion has been characterized by a dramatic increase in the amount of attention paid to the analysis of the so-called "new religions" (Long and Hadden, 1979:280). This increased concern with religious innovation has, in tum, given rise to increased interest among sociologists in the phenomenon of religious conversion. Because the "new religions" are often faced with the need to recruit new members from a population whose world views are often quite different from their own, the desire to understand these new religious movements has almost inevitably led to an interest in understanding the processes by which they recruit prospective members and by which they encourage them to renounce old beliefs and embrace new ones.
    [Show full text]
  • Book Reviews / Exchange 37 (2008) 221-236 Rodney Stark, The
    Book Reviews / Exchange 37 (2008) 221-236 223 Rodney Stark, Th e Rise of Mormonism, edited by Reid L. Neilson, New York et al.: Columbia University Press 2005, xi + 173 pp., ISBN 0-231-13634-X, price: US$ 41.50 (hardcover). Sociologist of religion Rodney Stark has published over a dozen books and anthologies and is a leading proponent of the use of rational choice theory in the study of religion.1 Stark is famous among a broad public for his prediction that Mormonism will be the fi rst new world religion to appear after Islam. His projections of future Latter-day Saints (LDS) growth have even been picked up by the Mormon hierarchy and PR network. Stark has not conducted empirical research on the LDS Church, but he quotes from trusted sources like Mauss and Duke. However, research that does not confi rm his expecta- tions is not mentioned, even when it fi ts the rational choice paradigm (e.g., Phillips). Although Bushman is quoted, the historical contexts of Mormonism are never dealt with directly and Shipps’ work is not mentioned either. Ethnographic studies of the functioning of an LDS ward are not referred to. Th e result is that Stark’s view of Mormonism is rather uncritical and tends to accept much about the religion (doctrines, leadership, callings) at face value. Too often, he is only scratching on the surface of Mormonism. Despite these criticisms, I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the study of Mormonism, especially from a social science perspective. Stark brought Mormonism to the attention of both social scientists and the general public.
    [Show full text]
  • Gods, Rituals, and the Moral Order
    Gods, Rituals, and the Moral Order RODNEY STARK The functionalist “law” that religion sustains the moral order must be amended. As is demonstrated in this study, religion has this effect only as it is based on belief in powerful, active, conscious, morally-concerned gods. Contrary to Durkheim’s claims, participation in religious rituals per se has little independent impact on morality and none when done on behalf of gods conceived as unconscious essences, or as conscious gods of small scope and lacking moral concerns. Thus, the link between gods and morality is limited mainly to societies having more complex cultures, but even in some highly developed societies a religious basis for morality is missing. Quantitative results are based on 427 societies included in the Atlas of World Cultures, and on surveys of the United States and 33 other nations. Religion functions to sustain the moral order. This classic proposition, handed down from the founders, is regarded by many as the closest thing to a “law” that the social scientific study of religion possesses. In his Burnett Lectures, W. Robertson Smith explained that “even in its rudest form Religion was a moral force, the powers that men revered were on the side of social order and moral law; and the fear of the gods was a motive to enforce the laws of society, which were also the laws of morality” (1889:53). Emile Durkheim, of course, argued that religion exists because it unites humans into moral communities, and while law and custom also regulate conduct, religion alone “asserts itself not only over conduct but over the conscience.
    [Show full text]
  • The Market for Martyrs
    Working Paper 36 The Market for Martyrs * LAURENCE R. IANNACCONE * This paper was presented at the 2004 Meetings of the American Economic Association, San Diego, CA. This work was supported in part by grants from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and the Project on Religion, Political Economy, and Society at Harvard University. I am indebted to Eli Berman and Rodney Stark both for their suggestions and the insights of their research. Send comments or suggestions to [email protected] The ideas presented in this research are the authors' and do not represent official positions of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. The Market for Martyrs Laurence R. Iannaccone George Mason University Abstract Despite its presence within all religious traditions, extreme self-sacrifice is by no means easy to explain. We rightly view most people who seek pain or death as mentally ill. Yet studies refute the seemingly obvious conclusion that religious self-sacrifice is likewise rooted in depression, obsession, or other forms of irrationality. Economic theory suggests ways in which many forms of sacrifice (such as restrictive diet, dress, and sexual conduct) can help groups produce collective goods and services otherwise lost to free- riding, but self-sacrifice aimed at injuring others has yet to be adequately explained. Injury-oriented sacrifice can be modeled as a market phenomenon grounded in exchanges between a relatively small supply of people willing to sacrifice themselves and a relatively large number of “demanders” who benefit from the sacrificers’ acts. Contrary to popular perception, it is on account of limited demand rather than limited supply that markets for “martyrs” so rarely flourish.
    [Show full text]
  • Vita for ROGER FINKE PERSONAL DATA
    3/20 Vita for ROGER FINKE PERSONAL DATA Department of Sociology Pennsylvania State University 211 Oswald Tower University Park, PA 16802-6207 Voice: (814) 867-1427 Fax: (814) 863-7216 [email protected] EDUCATION Ph.D., University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 1984, Sociology M.A., University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 1981, Sociology B.A., Concordia College, Seward, Nebraska, 1976, Social Work ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Religious Studies and International Affairs, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 2015 to present Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 2000 to 2015 Visiting professor, Sino-U.S.-European Summer Institute for the Scientific Study of Religion, Renmin University, Beijing, China, 2005 Associate Professor of Sociology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 1992 to 2000 Visiting professor, Pew Younger Scholars Program, Summer, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, 1995, 2000 Assistant Professor of Sociology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 1989- 1992 Assistant Professor of Sociology, Loyola University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 1986-1989 Assistant Professor of Sociology, Concordia College, River Forest, IL, 1984-1986 1 CURRENT SPECIAL APPOINTMENTS Director, Association of Religion Data Archives (www.theARDA.com), 1996 to present Fellow, Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion, 2006 to present Board of Advisors, National Museum of American Religion, 2013 to present Virtual Fellow in the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe
    Jehovah’s Witnesses in Europe Jehovah’s Witnesses in Europe Past and Present Volume I/1 Edited by Gerhard Besier and Katarzyna Stokłosa Jehovah’s Witnesses in Europe: Past and Present Volume I/1 Edited by Gerhard Besier and Katarzyna Stokłosa This book first published 2016 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2016 by Gerhard Besier, Katarzyna Stokłosa and contributors All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Cover images: Branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Paris (105, rue des Poissonniers); Natzweiler Struthof concentration camp; The “Kindergarten” in the Świeradów-Zdrój (Flinsberg) camp. By courtesy of Célestin Floryn, Raymond Federspiel and Jehovah’s Witnesses, France Cover design: Damián di Carlo, Sarah-Elena Klaassen ISBN (10): 1-4438-9445-1 ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-9445-6 As a two-volume set: ISBN (10): 1-4438-9726-4 ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-9726-6 Contents List of Figures.......................................................................................VII List of Tables.......................................................................................... IX List of Charts ..........................................................................................X Introduction ........................................................................................... 1 Jehovah’s Witnesses in Western and Southern Europe Gerhard Besier & Katarzyna Stokłosa Belgium ................................................................................................... 13 A History of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Belgium Willy Fautré 1. Jehovah’s Witnesses Before World War I 14 2. Jehovah’s Witnesses Between the Wars 15 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Secularization, R.I.P. Author(S): Rodney Stark Source: Sociology of Religion, Vol
    Secularization, R.I.P. Author(s): Rodney Stark Source: Sociology of Religion, Vol. 60, No. 3 (Autumn, 1999), pp. 249-273 Published by: Oxford University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3711936 . Accessed: 11/08/2013 15:27 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Oxford University Press and Association for the Sociology of Religion, Inc. are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Sociology of Religion. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 134.139.29.9 on Sun, 11 Aug 2013 15:27:10 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SociologyofReligion 1999, 60:3 249-273 Secularization,R.l.P. RodneyStark* UniversityofWashington Fromthe beginning, social scientists have celebrated thesecularization thesis despite the fact that itnever was consistent with empirical reality. More than 150 years ago Tocqueville pointed out that 'thefacts by no means accord with [the secularization] theory," and this lack of accord has grown far worsesince then. Indeed, the only shred of credibility forthe notion that secularization hasbeen takingplace has depended on contrasts between now and a bygoneAge of Faith. In thisessay I assemblethe work of many recent historians who are unanimous that the Age of Faith is pure nostalgia- thatlack of religious participation was, if anything, even more widespread inmedieval timesthan now.
    [Show full text]
  • SOCIOLOGY of RELIGION Davidson College Fall Semester, 2010 Course
    ARDA LEARNING RESOURCES Sociology of Religion Syllabus SOC 225: SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION Davidson College Fall Semester, 2010 Course: Sociology 320 – Sociology of Religion Time and Place: 10:00pm - 11:15am, Tuesdays & Thursdays, Chambers 1006 Prerequisite: None Instructor: Gerardo Marti Phone Number: (704) 894-2481 My Office: Papers turned in outside of class go to Sociology Dept, Preyer 107 Pre-scheduled appointments meet in my office, Preyer 107 Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Wednesdays 10:00am – 11:30am and by appointment. For most people, religion is a faith to be lived —or perhaps to be neglected – but for a few, it is also a phenomenon to be studied…. The student of society must be a student of religion; and the student of religion must be a student of society. -- J. Milton Yinger Course Description and Student Outcomes: Religion exists in a social context, and always is shaped by and shapes its social context. Furthermore, religion itself is always (at least in part) a socially constituted reality--that is, its content and structure are always formed, at least partially, out of the "stuff" of the socio-cultural world (language, symbols, groups, norms, interactions, resources, organizations, etc.). The sociology of religion pursues an understanding of both the "social-ness'" of religion itself and the mutually influencing interactions between religion and its social environment. We will analyze religious beliefs, practices, and organizations from a sociological perspective, with a primary focus on religion in contemporary American society. Specifically, this course is designed to: 1. Cultivate in students an understanding of the distinctively sociological approach to studying religion.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries Rodney Stark
    BYU Studies Quarterly Volume 39 Issue 3 Article 14 7-1-2000 The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries Rodney Stark John W. Welch Kathryn Worlton Pulham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq Part of the Mormon Studies Commons, and the Religious Education Commons Recommended Citation Welch, John W. and Pulham, Kathryn Worlton (2000) "The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries Rodney Stark," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 39 : Iss. 3 , Article 14. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol39/iss3/14 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in BYU Studies Quarterly by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Welch and Pulham: <em>The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Mov RODNEY STARK the rise of christianity how the obscure marginal jesus movement became the dominant religious force in the western world in a few centuries princeton NJ princeton university press 1996 san francisco harpercollinsHarperCollins 1997 xiv 215 appp illustrations index bibliography 140014.00 reviewed by john W welch and kathryn worlton pulham the burden rodney stark undertakes to bear in this book is a heavy one he ventures to show that long before
    [Show full text]