Читать книгу SCM Core Text Sociology of Religion - Andrew Dawson - Страница 10

What follows introduces the central components of the discipline of sociology. Of course, in a chapter of this length, only the most rudimentary elements of the sociological gaze can be sketched. To this end, the following material aspires only to promote sufficient understanding of the principal concerns, debates and approaches in play within sociology to furnish a suitably informed platform upon which subsequent chapters might build. As the sociology of religion is a sub-discipline of the much broader sociological paradigm, an appreciation of its content, rationale and methods is best achieved through first engaging overarching disciplinary preoccupations and their respective theoretical contentions. Given its thoroughgoingly modern provenance, the discipline of sociology must be understood against the thematic backdrop of ‘modernity’ (Bilton, Bonnett and Jones, 2002). As such, the chapter opens by outlining the chief characteristics of the modern social landscape which sociology engages. The central importance of society and its constituent dimensions is then treated along with some key theoretical debates in respect of the relationship between individuals and social structures. The chapter closes by sketching a number of the most important themes, theoretical variations and methodological approaches in play across the sociological spectrum.