Alternative Sociologies of Religion - by James V Spickard (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Uncovers what the sociology of religion would look like had it emerged in a Confucian, Muslim, or Native American culture rather than in a Christian one

Sociology has long used Western Christianity as a model for all religious life. As a result, the field has tended to highlight aspects of religion that Christians find important, such as religious beliefs and formal organizations, while paying less attention to other elements. Rather than simply criticizing such limitations, James V. Spickard imagines what the sociology of religion would look like had it arisen in three non-Western societies. What aspects of religion would scholars see more clearly if they had been raised in Confucian China? What could they learn about religion from Ibn Khaldun, the famed 14th century Arab scholar? What would they better understand, had they been born Navajo, whose traditional religion certainly does not revolve around beliefs and organizations?

Through these thought experiments, Spickard shows how non-Western ideas understand some aspects of religions--even of Western religions--better than does standard sociology. The volume shows how non-Western frameworks can shed new light on several different dimensions of religious life, including the question of who maintains religious communities, the relationships between religion and ethnicity as sources of social ties, and the role of embodied experience in religious rituals. These approaches reveal central aspects of contemporary religions that the dominant way of doing sociology fails to notice. Each approach also provides investigators with new theoretical resources to guide them deeper into their subjects. The volume makes a compelling case for adopting a global perspective in the social sciences.

Review Quotes

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"In the last decade there have been a number of highly visible critiques of the Christian and Protestant base of US sociology of religion. James V. Spickard, with his many ties to European sociology of religion, breaks out of the insularity of US research. His deep immersion in nonwestern thought also bears fruit in this text. It is a significant contribution to an ongoing conversation about how research on religion needs to change.

"--Mary Jo Neitz, Professor of Women's and Gender Studies, University of Missouri

"Alternative Sociologies of Religion is beautifully writtenclear, articulate, and frequently passionate and engaging. Spickards arguments all command considerable merit and attention. His alternative program for teaching and research will help to refashion more conventional sociologies of religion."-- "Journal of the American Academy of Religion"

"Alternative Sociologiesis a refreshing contribution from one of the fields respected scholars. James Spickards long career and varied experiences as a field researcher and consummate teacher shine through on every page. His dissatisfaction with and hope for the future of sociology of religion energizes his quest to find concepts to move the discipline forward."-- "Nova Religio"

"I [University of Georgia Religion Professor David Smilde] strongly sympathize with [Spickards] efforts to use comparative research to enrich the sociology of religion."-- "Sociology of Religion"

"In praise of this analysis, Spickard does a good job of demonstrating how thinking can be stretched so that religion can be examined in those dimensions that past habitual frameworks have undervalued, missed, ignored, or not been able to see."-- "American Journal of Sociology"

"James Spickard's new book is a contribution to the round of reflection that has been happening in the sociology of religion over the past decade ... His push to look at what intellectuals in other contexts have said about religion is a useful addition to our emphasis on expansion of the scope of empirical study."-- "Choice"

"Spickards book offers a challenge to traditional sociological epistemology. It will be of interest to anyone interested in contemporary sociological theory of the study of religion."-- "Reading Religion"

"Spickards carefully written, groundbreaking text effectively engages the reader in many thoughtful experiments that offer an intriguing alternative to the state of the discipline as we know it. This book is appropriate for large general collections serving undergraduates, graduates, and faculty. It is also appropriate for collections focusing on sociology, anthropology, and comparative religion."-- "Catholic Library World"

"Spickards endeavor is a worthy one and his execution of it is well done."-- "Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion"

"This book demonstrates how sociological thinking can be colored by global contexts and helps to render the broad, global sociological realities visible. Such a revitalized sociological tool kit enables sociologists on both sides of the Atlantic to engage in intellectual engineering and build upon critical sociological theory relevant in their respective contexts and milieus."--Afe Adogame, Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Christianity and Society, Princeton Theological Seminary