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The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion Kindle Edition
Acclaimed scholar and sociologist Peter L. Berger carefully lays out an understanding of religion as a historical, societal mechanism in this classic work of social theory. Berger examines the roots of religious belief and its gradual dissolution in modern times, applying a general theoretical perspective to specific examples from religions throughout the ages. Building upon the author’s previous work, The Social Construction of Reality, with Thomas Luckmann, this book makes Berger’s case that human societies build a “sacred canopy” to protect, stabilize, and give meaning to their worldview.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherOpen Road Media
- Publication dateApril 26, 2011
- File size1856 KB
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Product details
- ASIN : B004X3789G
- Publisher : Open Road Media (April 26, 2011)
- Publication date : April 26, 2011
- Language : English
- File size : 1856 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 242 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN : 0385073054
- Best Sellers Rank: #538,568 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #138 in Religious Studies - Sociology
- #149 in Social Sciences Reference
- #452 in Theology (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Peter L. Berger (Boston, MA) is University Professor of Sociology, Emeritus, at Boston University and the founder and Senior Research Fellow of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs. He has written numerous books on sociological theory, the sociology of religion, and Third World development. Among his more recent books are In Praise of Doubt (with Anton Zijderveld); Religious America, Secular Europe? (with Grace Davie and Effie Fokas); Questions of Faith; Many Globalizations (edited with Samuel Huntington); and Redeeming Laughter: The Comic Dimension of Human Experience. Professor Berger has received honorary degrees from Loyola University, University of Notre Dame, University of Geneva, University of Munich, Sofia University, and Renmin University of China.
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Consciousness externalizes or seeks to make inner experiences concrete in the outer experiences of the surrounding world. Religion constructs a sacred canopy, or all-embracing world order (Chapter 1).
Producing sacred order is 'part of the same activity that produces society,' a result of consciousness that externalizes ideas (Chapter 2).
The 'sacred canopy' is an all-embracing order that maintains society against chaos (Chapter 3).
But there is chaos; and the suffering of the innocent, threatens the maintenance of institutional order, and poses the 'problem of theodicy.' People must accept or reject one or more aspects of social order. Religious experience is fundamentally alienating because it 'projects human meanings into the empty vastness of the universe '– a projection...which comes back as an alien reality to haunt its producers' (100). This is 'religion and alienation' (Chapter 4).
Experiences remove sectors of society from the domination of religious definitions and symbols. This is the 'process of secularization' (Chapter 5).
No competent authority imposes religious traditions any longer, so religions have to market their traditions. This poses them the 'problem of plausibility' (Chapter 6: 138).
Since the surrounding social milieu no longer takes any orthodoxy's definitions of reality for granted, each religion organizes as a minority against a hostile, at least non-believing, milieu The poses the 'problem of legitimation' (Chapter 7).
Alienation, or commitment to one view devalues other views, is endemic to religion. Any experience that casts doubt on the alienating view, however, threatens anomy, or 'bad faith' in the rightness of the particular view. For instance, the Jewish Covenant chose a minority and so alienated the 'Chosen People' from humanity in general. And Christian 'other-worldliness' completely disenfranchised the world, alienating people from this world. Again, the classic Moslem view alienates Islam from both, Judaism and Christianity, because they fell from true monotheism by adopting hullul, the doctrine of incarnation, as if anyone or anything could stand beside God or act as the mediator between God and humanity (121).
Superb scholarship, complete indexing, readable academic prose, if somewhat dense in page-long paragraphs.
The language is from another time, almost like Dickens, a bit curlique and baroque, but that's part of its charm and puts it in that other era that was so important to us; the Sixties, but coming from the other side, like Maxwell Maltz, winding down after decades of study through the 30s, 40s, and 50s to spell it out for us and be so wise.
I was glad to be able to obtain a copy and so affordably.
Bless you all
Jan
Berger writes in a much more approachable way than, let's say, Max Weber but isn't as abrasive as Karl Marx. But, his writing is provocative. I'm unsure how a religiously devout person would swallow some of his imagery, but it makes for a good read.
However, once comprehended, the book is brilliant and I will certainly reread it frequently.