Abstract
This chapter is divided into three main sections. The first reflects briefly on the early days of the sociology of religion in Britain recognising that this story is not so very different from that of sociology more generally. If you paid attention to the sociological classics, you paid attention to religion. Certain points are, however, worth noting. These include language issues: when were the classics translated into English, and why? Language relates in turn to the place of British sociology between North America and Europe. The second section pivots on the dominance of secularisation as a master narrative for much of the post-war period. It asks why this was the case; it also asks about the implications of this situation, not only for the sociology of religion but for the development of sociology as a whole. The attention paid to new religious movements provides a counterpoint to this discussion.
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© 2014 Grace Davie
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Davie, G. (2014). The Sociological Study of Religion: Arrival, Survival, Revival. In: Holmwood, J., Scott, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Sociology in Britain. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137318862_20
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137318862_20
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