Ebook: Sociologie De La Religion: Économie Et Société

Sociology of Religion by Max Weber, economist & sociologist, was originally published in German. Weber studied the effects of religious action & inaction. Instead of viewing religion as an "opiate of the people," or as a method of promoting morality, he simply categorized different religions in order to understand religion's subjective meaning to individuals (Verstehen). By viewing religion strictly in the scientific sense, he was striving for objectivity, attempting to ignore value judgments & to understand religion as those human responses that give meaning to inescapable problems of existence such as birth, death, illness, aging, injustice, tragedy & suffering. In The Sociology of Religion, he proposes that people pursue their own goals & that religion facilitates that.
The rise of religions
Gods, magicians & priests
The idea of God, Religious ethics & taboo
The prophet
The religious congregation, preaching & pastoral care
Castes, estates, classes & religion
Religion & non-privileged classes
Intellectualism, intellectuals & the history of religion
Theodicy, salvation & rebirth
The different roads to salvation
Asceticism, mysticism & salvation religion
Soteriology & types of salvation
Religious ethics, the world order & culture
The relationship of religion to politics, economics, sexuality & art
Judaism, Christianity & the socio-economic order
The attitude of the other world religions to the social & economic order