Why is it that the majority of people, from all socio-economic, education, and ethnic backgrounds, ascribe to some sort of faith? What draws us to religion? What pushes us away? And what exactly is religion anyway?
Defining religion over the past century has, ironically, led to theories that exclude belief in God, proposing that all systems of thought concerning the meaning of life are religions. Of course, this makes it impossible to distinguish the village priest from the village atheist, or Communism from Catholicism. Worse yet, it makes all religious behavior irrational, presuming that, for example, people knowingly pray to an empty sky.
Renowned sociologist of religion Rodney Stark offers a comprehensive, decisive, God-centered theory of religion in his book, Why God: Explaining Religious Phenomena. While his intent is not to insist that God exists, Stark limits religions to systems of thought based on belief in supernatural beings—to Gods. With this God-focused theory, Stark explores the entire range of religious topics, including the rise of monotheism, the discovery of sin, causes of religious hostility and conflict, and the role of revelations.
Each chapter of Why God? builds a comprehensive framework, starting with the foundations of human motivations and ending with an explanation of why most people are religious. Stark ultimately settles what religion is, what it does, and why it is a universal feature of human societies.
Why God? is a much-needed guide for anyone who wants a thorough understanding of religion and our relationship to it, as well as a firm refutation to those who think religion can exist without the divine.
Book Details
- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Templeton Press (April 30, 2017)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1599475200
- ISBN-13: 978-1599475202
- Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.3 x 9 inches
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments / vii
Introduction: Ungodly “Theories” and Scurrilous Metaphors / 1
Chapter 1: The Elements of Faith / 17
Chapter 2: Monotheism and Morality / 49
Chapter 3: Religious Experiences, Miracles, and Revelations / 71
Chapter 4: The Rise and Fall of Religious Movements / 103
Chapter 5: Church and Sect: Religious Group Dynamics / 131
Chapter 6: Ecclesiastical Influences / 161
Chapter 7: Religious Hostility and Civility / 181
Chapter 8: Individual Causes and Consequences of Religiousness / 211
Chapter 9: Meaning and Metaphysics / 231
Appendix: Propositions, Definitions, and Deductions / 237
Notes / 261
Bibliography / 267
Index / 281
About the Author
Rodney Stark is one of the leading authorities on the sociology of religion. Following a tour of duty in the US Army, Stark received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, where he held appointments as a research sociologist at the Survey Research Center and at the Center for the Study of Law and Society. For many years, the Pulitzer Prize nominee was professor of sociology and professor of comparative religion at the University of Washington. In 2004 he became Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences and codirector of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University.
He also is an honorary professor of sociology at Peking University in Beijing, China. Many of his previous books have won national and international awards, and many have been translated into a total of seventeen foreign languages.
