The Study of Religion\s in Western Europe III

This essay discusses main features and developments of the study of religion(s) in Western Europe. It attempts a historical, geographical, and thematic synthesis. Part I sketches the general academic framework of the academic study of religion(s) in Western Europe and addresses the question of the (historical and conceptual) roots of this field of study. It then discusses some key dimensions of the academic institutionalization of the study of religion(s) from the 1870s to Fascism and National Socialism, addressing such issues as chairs, congresses, periodicals, textbooks and reviewing previous research. Parts II and III are to follow.

1 Part I of the present series was published in issue 37(4), 204-318 (¼Stausberg, 2007). The third and final part will be published in 2009.

Social Research: An International Quarterly

it should by now be clear that the scholarly stakes in discussing religion historically and systematically are much higher than those of mere impassive, intellectual interest. Even "methodological atheism" and "ascesis"-two well known provisos made by nonconfessional, nondenominational, nonsectarian inquiries into religion that espouse not so much value-free but rather differently valued normative perspectives of their own-clearly do not suffice to suppress or contain the passion the subject of religion provokes and, perhaps, deserves. Modern states, their functionaries, and enlightened citizens have begun to take notice and express not just concern but also genuine curiosity, informing themselves more thoroughly about the cultural presence and political force of the phenomenon of "public"-or, as I would prefer to say, "global"-religion in the contemporary world. While many stress its perils far more than its promises, they are convincedon either side of this somewhat artificial divide (artificial, since one could hardly separate such perils from their promises and the very conceptual and practical possibilities for which both stand)-that the phenomenon in question can no longer leave us indifferent, not least because it is unlikely to disappear from our expanding and increasingly flattening-worldwide, "global"-horizon anytime soon.

European Journal of Sociology, 2006

This article considers six factors that are currently shaping the religious life of Europe. These are the Judaeo-Christian heritage, the continuing influence of the historic churches, the changing patterns of church-going, new arrivals from outside, secular reactions and the growing significance of religion in the modern world order. Any assessment of the future of religion in Europe must take all of these into account, not least their mutual and necessarily complex interactions.

Zdeněk Nešpor's review 'Three European Sociologies of Religion' introduces us to the work of several authors and their approaches to the sociology of religion. Let us briefl y review the key points he makes in connection with the sociology of religion. First, there is the question of to what extent the difference between American and European sociology is constitutive for the sociology of religion and which of their virtues could enrich the discipline in the future. Second, the question is raised as to whether the sociology of religion needs any so-called grand theories or not. Third, there is a hint of a question about methodology and the topics that the sociology of religion should concentrate on. I would like to supplement these thoughts with several comments, which I believe add to the integrity of the view of the topic.

Grace Davie provides a survey of the history of the discipline in her introduction to the sociology of religion, and considers the manner in which the discipline has developed in British universities, in contrast to European models. Religion, according to Davie, is located in societies, and is 'not an abstract thing', but very concrete. Sociology as the study of society is thus an appropriate methodology for the study of religion. Davie sees sociologists as having a necessary social and legal function in advising governments. Indeed sociological methods of quantitative and qualitative analysis dominate both public and private sector investigation into social trends. Social sciences are thus often able to represent their immediate relevance to policy-making more effectively than other disciplines, such as those of the humanities.