Religion in Society: Theories and Methods

In this module we give you the opportunity to survey and critically examine the theoretical frameworks, methods and approaches used to study religion sociologically. You will also engage with contrasting empirical studies of religion, focussing particularly on religion in modern Britain. We aim to enable students to develop their own sociologically informed questions about religion that can serve as a basis for further enquiry. We will also survey various sociological study of religion and the underpinning social realities such as secularism, ideology, race, gender, class and diaspora. In this module we encourage students to consider the value of conducting their own field research if they choose a dissertation module (using the subject specific skills gained in the module), which may help to shape your own research proposals in the field of sociology and religion.