The Sociology of Religion

In The Sociology of Religion, first published in the United States in 1963, Max Weber looks at the significant role religion has played in social change throughout history. The book was a formative text of the new discipline of sociology and has gone on to become a classic in the social sciences."Weber has the rare ability to ask the right questions – truly important questions which others had overlooked – and, in addition, to develop contextual tools which contribute to their solution. For this reason he has become a scholar's scholar." – Christian Century

"The book is the most crucial contribution of our century to the comparitive and evolutionary understanding of the relationship between society and religion, and even society and culture generally." – Talcott Parsons, from the introduction

"Max Weber ... exemplifies the way in which the moral stamina to live with some of the major existential dilemnas of an age can enrich a scholar's work and ennoble his life." – The New York Times Book ReviewMax Weber (1864-1920) was a principal creator of modern social science.