Chapter fourteen embarks upon a study of religion. Sociological
definitions of religion focus on three basic elements: beliefs,
social practices, and the moral community. Religions help achieve
functional integration in both the religious community and society
at large; they link communities and help legitimize the established
social order. The three major forms of religious institutions
recognized by sociologists are churches, sects, and cults.
Religion both adapts to and is a powerful force of social
change. Examples of this include the Protestant Reformation
as well as religious innovation and religious revival in modern
times. Two recent episodes of fundamentalist revival were
Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle East and Hindu fundamentalism
in India.
In the U.S. today, many Americans are nondenominational,
preferring to think of religion as a subjective, personal
experience. Religious affiliation, however, is a dynamic process,
and therefore to understand religion in America it is important
to examine the trends and events occurring in each of the
country's major religions: Roman Catholicism, Protestantism,
Judaism, and Christian Fundamentalism.
