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The questions of the people’s social interactions are discussed within the context of sociology, and the persons’ religious beliefs and attitudes are the subject matter of the religious studies. Nevertheless, sociologists accentuate the fact that religion can develop only as the social phenomenon that is why it is important to study religions and the people’s religious views within the society.
Although religious beliefs and practices are followed by an individual, the religion as the phenomenon has its origins within the definite religious group as the reflection of society. Sociology of religion as the sphere of knowledge combines the approaches utilized in sociology and religious studies in order to examine religious views, people’s beliefs, rituals, and practices which can affect the development of the society and which are the result of the people’s social interactions.
Sociology of religion studies the relationship between the persons’ religious visions and practices and the development of the social group. Johnstone states that religion is the group phenomenon that is why those people who follow the same religion also have similar goals and moral principles, and their social development is influenced by their religion (Johnstone 8).
However, the process is interdependent because religion emerges as the result of the social growth and the growth of the people’s conscience and morality. Furthermore, “society precedes religion. Before religion can develop, there must first exist general patterns of social interaction – that is, a society – that can serve as a model” (Johnstone 30).
To study the interdependence of society and religion, it is necessary to use the sociological methodological framework and tools in order to analyze the factual data. Thus, sociology of religion uses the scientific method (Johnstone 6). From this point, sociology of religion is the sphere of knowledge which studies such religious phenomenon as the people’s beliefs and attitudes to the sacred with the help of the sociological tools (Putnam and Campbell).
It is important to study sociology of religion because people discuss religion as the significant sphere of their life, and many social processes often have the religious background because they are associated with the people’s beliefs, their attitudes to the sacred and magic, and their moral presumptions.
Furthermore, the focus on the diversity of religions provides sociologists with the additional information about the society because all the social groups are different, and those beliefs which are shared by religious groups are also different.
According to Johnstone, some form of religion exists in any social group, and the rejection of the definite religious beliefs is also the characteristic feature to analyze the peculiarities of this or that community (Johnstone 18-19). The study of religions in their diversity is the key to study the diversity of society. That is why, the subject of sociology of religion is important for studying the world from the sociological perspective and with references to the people’s religious visions.
Sociologists are inclined to study the sources and nature of religion using different theories to explain the development of religious beliefs within the society. The rational choice theory is the most controversial theory which is proposed to explain the process of choosing the definite religion to follow.
The supporters of the rational choice theory state that persons can choose any religion with references to their personal experience or as the result of analyzing the advantages proposed by this or that religious organization. The problem is in the fact that the rational approach to choose the religion to follow is often discussed as inappropriate because the theory is developed to explain the economic processes, and it cannot be used to discuss the people’s moral or spiritual development and the choice of religion.
However, Johnstone provides rather convincing arguments to support the relevance of this theory to consider the persons’ religious choices. According to Johnstone, “people have a set of mental images stored in their brains with which they make decisions as rationally and sensibly as they know how” (Johnstone 36). The decision about any religion can be also made referring to these images.
It is important to note that the rational choice theory is ineffective to explain the origin of religions, but it can be successfully used to accentuate the nature of sharing the definite religious views and beliefs by people who belong to the same group.
Johnstone stresses that the rational choice theory “picks up at the point where religious ideas and systems already exist in some form and people turn to those ideas and systems for answers, consolation, protection, promises, and solutions” (Johnstone 37). Thus, according to the theory, people are inclined to make the most beneficial and rational religious choices.
Sociology of religion studies people’s religious beliefs, practices, attitudes, and religions in their variety as the part of the social development because the connection between religion and society is interdependent.
In spite of the fact sociology of religion can be discussed as a comparably new sphere of knowledge, its subject matter is important to be explained with references to the sociological studies developed to analyze the relationship between the religion and society. Thus, religion is the social phenomenon, and it can be studied properly in its connection with social groups which follow definite religious visions.
Works Cited
Johnstone, Ronald. Religion in Society: A Sociology of Religion. USA: Pearson, Prentice-Hall, 2007. Print.
Putnam, Robert, and David Campbell. American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. USA: Simon & Schuster, 2010. Print.
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