Religion and Modern Society: Key Theories and Concepts

Academic year 2011-12

Date last modified

23-4-2012 1:29

Period

Period 1

Startdate:

05-Sep-11

Enddate:

28-Oct-11

Code

SSC2041

ECTS credits

5.0

Organisational unit

University College Maastricht

Coordinator

Description

This course will introduce students to social scientific perspectives on religion in the modern West. With the help of both ‘the classics’ of religious studies and contemporary sociology and cultural analysis the following questions will be tackled: What is religion? What are its functions in society? What does it mean to individual lives? What is its status in the world today? What might be its future? Students will make an acquaintance with the central concepts and methods employed in the study of religion, look at the key trends in religion in the modern world and explore the different types of organisations and movements that one can encounter in the contemporary religious landscape. The course is embedded in discussions concerning two, related concepts that have defined the way scholars think about society today: modernity and secularisation. It will pay attention to theories regarding these two terms and zoom in on two matters: a) the fate of religion under the conditions of modernity and b) the possible effects of secularisation on our understanding of our lives and the world around us.

Goals

• To familiarise students with different approaches towards religion within sociology and cultural analysis; • To discuss the role and status of religion in contemporary Western society; • To gain insight into sociological theories on modernity and secularisation;

Instruction language

Prerequisites

SSC1001 Macro Sociology or HUM1003 Cultural Studies I.

Recommended literature

Teaching methods

PBL
PRESENTATION(S)
LECTURE(S)
ASSIGNMENT(S)
PAPER(S)

Assessment methods

FINAL PAPER
ATTENDANCE
PARTICIPATION
WRITTEN EXAM
ORAL EXAM
TAKE HOME EXAM

Key words