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The Sociological Study of Religion
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The Sociological Study of Religion

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 3194

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Juan Maria Sánchez-Prieto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
I-COMMUNITAS, Institute for Advanced Social Research, Public University of Navarra, 31006 Pamplona, Spain
Interests: sociology of religion; collective representations; political cultures; nationalism
Dr. Josetxo Beriain

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Sociology and Social Work, Public University of Navarra, 31015 Pamplona, Spain
Interests: sociology of religion; sociological theory; cultural sociology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The sociological study of religion-seeking to understand the relations between society and religion, as well as the role religion plays in social life, is a classic field of sociology that is receiving new attention today. Its origins go back to the studies of Auguste Comte and Karl Marx, but above all to Émile Durkheim and Max Weber, re-read today in the light of critiques of modernization theory. Secularization as a requirement of modernity does not cancel out the dimension of the sacred in social life. Contemporary societies, along with their appeal to rationality, also manifest shared feelings of collective effervescence that push for social transformation, creating new forms of meaning.

The sacred thus redefined illuminates the permanence of the religious in social life while reinforcing its centrality in human cultures and as a factor of social structuring, and, thanks to sociological analysis, makes it possible to translate into a rational key what was previously inexplicable because of its divine origin. The current sociology of religion breaks with a vision of modernity in radical opposition to religious tradition. It is not a matter of projecting the religious universe directly into the analysis of contemporary society, but of assessing the transfers of sacredness that accompany the very development of contemporary symbolic representations, among other aspects, beyond the validity of the spiritual sense as a force of individual transformation.

We are pleased to invite you to participate in this Special Issue of the journal dedicated to the sociological study of religion, whose purpose is to deepen in this field of study and its relations with other related areas, in order to illuminate from a plurality of approaches the protagonism, the new forms and the projection that religious beliefs and practices, religious institutions and, in short, religion as a factor of social change acquire in the global world in which we live, assessing its influence and impact on the conformation or validity of norms, values, communities, social movements and cultural changes.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Sociology of religion and related areas: the sociological study of religion and its particular relationship to anthropology and history: concepts, objects and methods.
  • Religious pluralism and globalization: multiple religions and mapping of the religious fact in today's world in comparative perspective.
  • Secularization, religious mutations and modern re-sacralizations: dynamics surrounding religion in today's contemporary and advanced societies.
  • Churches and religions: functions, dimensions and transformations of religious institutions in modernity.
  • Religion and conflict: religion and its relationship with power as a trigger for conflicts, tensions and violent radicalizations; and the role of religion also as a factor of pacification and social cohesion.
  • Religion and identity: the contribution of religion to the formation of individual and collective identities, to the expression of cultures and to the progress of symbolic languages.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Juan Maria Sánchez-Prieto
Dr. Josetxo Beriain
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sociology of religion
  • religious pluralism
  • secularization
  • religious beliefs and practices
  • churches
  • religious conflicts
  • fundamentalisms
  • nationalisms
  • identities

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 296 KiB  
Article
The Tension Between Buddhism and Science Within Contemporary Chinese Buddhists: A Case Study on the Religious Conversion Narrative Among Monastics in Larung Gar Buddhist Academy
by Yingxu Liu and Saiping An
Religions 2024, 15(11), 1407; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15111407 - 20 Nov 2024
Viewed by 280
Abstract
This article delves into the perception of monastics from Larung Gar Buddhist Academy of Western China concerning the intertwining relationship between Buddhism and science, along with the impact of this perception on their worldview and life trajectory. Many monastics at Larung Gar Buddhist [...] Read more.
This article delves into the perception of monastics from Larung Gar Buddhist Academy of Western China concerning the intertwining relationship between Buddhism and science, along with the impact of this perception on their worldview and life trajectory. Many monastics at Larung Gar Buddhist Academy initially held a high regard for science, dismissing Buddhism as superstition. However, upon gaining a comprehensive understanding of Buddhism through various opportunities, they came to believe that certain tenets of Buddhism are compatible with science, even suggesting that Buddhism could address some of the methodological and epistemological limitations of science and offer solutions to some issues that science is unable to resolve. This ultimately led them to embrace Buddhism and renounce worldly life. This study employs a case study to investigate the understanding of the relationship between Buddhism and science amongst the general public in contemporary China, an area underexplored by previous scholarship that predominantly concentrated on the philosophical scrutiny of the apologetic discourses towards the reconciliation between Buddhism and science of influential Buddhist ascetics and lay practitioners. Also, this study endeavors to demonstrate that despite the ongoing secularization of contemporary Chinese Buddhism in the “public sphere”, within the “private sphere” of Chinese Buddhism, there remain individuals who are pursuing the religious, sacred, and transcendental dimensions of Buddhism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Sociological Study of Religion)
21 pages, 281 KiB  
Article
The Separation of Church and State as an Imperial Project in the Philippines during the Early American Colonial Period
by Yiwei Xiao and Yuanlin Wang
Religions 2024, 15(8), 1006; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15081006 - 18 Aug 2024
Viewed by 2140
Abstract
This paper examines the separation of church and state in the Philippines during the early American colonial period, contextualizing it within the process of American overseas expansion and considering it as one of the projects of imperial hegemony construction. After the Spanish–American War, [...] Read more.
This paper examines the separation of church and state in the Philippines during the early American colonial period, contextualizing it within the process of American overseas expansion and considering it as one of the projects of imperial hegemony construction. After the Spanish–American War, the United States substituted Spain as the new colonial ruler of the Philippines, legitimizing its regime as the spread of ‘civilization’ to the Filipinos. On this basis, the Americans enacted laws guaranteeing religious freedom and introduced an American-style institution dealing with church–state relations. Beyond the legal and administrative initiatives, the new regime also constructed an official narrative of the transformation of political–religious relations in the Philippine that emphasized the absolute ‘difference’ between the American human rights principle, which guaranteed freedom of worship, and the Spanish theocracy, which was dedicated to the consolidation of privileges. By legislating the separation of church and state, buying up church properties, recognizing the equality of denominations, and constructing the official imperial narrative of church–state relations, the Americans hoped to ‘teach’ Filipinos that the ‘true’ belief was rooted in the inner convictions of individual Christians, not in the authority and coercion of the hierarchical church. By disciplining the construction of ‘difference’ under tutelary colonialism, the separation of church and state movement initiated by the American colonial government in the Philippines became an important source of imperial self-endowed legitimacy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Sociological Study of Religion)
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