The Stark-Bainbridge Theory of Religion: A Critical Analysis and Counter Proposals
This paper analyses the Stark-Bainbridge theory of religion to show that it contains substantial internal difficulties and unwarranted assumptions. We show that it is not compatible with a closer evaluation of the evidence deployed in its defence, and that an alternative theory accounts for much of...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
1984
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| In: |
Sociological analysis
Year: 1984, Volume: 45, Issue: 1, Pages: 11-27 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This paper analyses the Stark-Bainbridge theory of religion to show that it contains substantial internal difficulties and unwarranted assumptions. We show that it is not compatible with a closer evaluation of the evidence deployed in its defence, and that an alternative theory accounts for much of that evidence without reliance upon such assumptions. The difficulties of the Stark-Bainbridge theory stem from its reductionism, reducing religious belief to this-worldly considerations, and from the interpretive distance between Stark-Bainbridge and the actors whose beliefs and behaviour they seek to explain. |
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| ISSN: | 2325-7873 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociological analysis
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3711319 |