Religion in the Contemporary World (ePub)

In the new edition of this widely praised text, Alan Aldridge
examines the complex realities of religious belief, practice and
institutions. Religion is a powerful and controversial force in the
contemporary world, even in supposedly secular societies. Almost
all societies seek to cultivate religions and faith communities as
sources of social stability and engines of social progress. They
also try to combat real and imagined abuses and excess, regulating
cults that brainwash vulnerable people, containing fundamentalism
that threatens democracy and the progress of science, and
identifying terrorists who threaten atrocities in the name of
religion.

The third edition has been carefully revised to make sure it is
fully up to date with recent developments and debates. Major themes
in the revised edition include the recently erupted 'culture
war' between progressive secularists and conservative
believers, the diverse manifestations of
'fundamentalism' and their impact on the wider society,
new individual forms of religious expression in opposition to
traditional structures of authority, and the backlash against
'multiculturalism' with its controversial implications
for the social integration of ethnic and religious minority
communities.
Impressive in its scholarly analysis of a vibrant and challenging
aspect of human societies, the third edition will appeal strongly
to students taking courses in the sociology of religion and
religious studies, as well as to everyone interested in the place
of religion in the contemporary world.