The Scientific Study of Religion? You Must Be Joking!

Abstract

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Researching religion: The vocation of the sociologist of religion

“…I found threats of legal action on two occasions extremely intimidating but now realize that such threats may be simply a form of bullying bluster and that other researchers have had far more difficult problems to face (e.g. Wallis in Bell and Newby 1977: 149-167, Richardson 1991, 1998, Barker 1995. In such situations peer group support is very reassuring.…”

Exceptionalism or Chinamerica: Measuring Religious Change in the Globalizing World Today

“…Moreover, if either the government or practitioners were to seek our expert input about the definition and classification issue, can we ethically evade without providing a responsible answer? Admittedly, religion is a social construct that is subject to negotiation among various groups of people, as scrupulously argued by Barker (1995) and Beckford (2003). Broadly speaking, in the modern or modernizing world, there are three major social forces contending to define religion: scholars, believers, and governments (Beyer 2003).…”

Discursive Legitimation of a Controversial Technology: Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Women in Israel and the Internet

“…4. Barker (1995) has demonstrated that religious communities and their leaders are extremely wary of being researched by social scientists, fearing the undermining of traditional authority structures and the lack of control over information.…”