Chapter 20: Religion

  • Secularisation and Nationalism: A Critical Review - This article analyses the relationship between secularism and nationalism. It explores the Durkheim's Sociology of Religion and different theories of nationalism as a religion of modernity. Through doing so, this article proposes an alternative way of considering the relationship between secularization and nationalism.

1. According to Durkheim what would take over the function of religion? 
2. Does nationalism give meaning to death? 
3. Has nationalism replaced religion?

1. How have marriages changed in Britain since the 13th century?
2. What factors were found to shape choices in wedding locations? 
3. Why may some couples choose to marry in religious settings for their first marriages?

  • The Body between Religion and Spirituality - Through exploring the relationship between the soul and body this article distinguishes spirituality from religion, highlighting a contemporary debate within the sociology of religion.

1. How has religion exercised control over bodies? 
2. How has religion framed the body in relation to the soul?