We assess the current state of sociology of religion, particularly in the United States, for the extent to which a “critical sociology of religion” currently exists and how it might look if it did. We focus particular attention on two areas of inquiry: religion and health; and religion and violence.
AlmeidaJJohnsonRMCorlissHL (2009) Emotional distress among LGBT youth: The influence of perceived discrimination based on sexual orientation. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(7): 1001–1014.
2.
BeckfordJADemerathNJ (2007) The Sage Handbook of the Sociology of Religion, 1st edn. London: SAGE.
3.
BenjaminsMR (2012) Religious beliefs, diet, and physical activity among Jewish adolescents. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 51(3): 588–597.
4.
BiermanA (2006) Does religion buffer the effects of discrimination on mental health? Differing effects by race. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 45(4): 551–565.
5.
CadgeWLevittPSmildeD (2011) De-centering and re-entering: Rethinking concepts and methods in the sociological study of religion. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 50(3): 437–449.
6.
ClarkeP (2011) The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, USA.
7.
ClineKMCFerraroKF (2006) Does religion increase the prevalence and incidence of obesity in adulthood?Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 45(2): 269–281.
8.
DienerETayLMyersDG (2011) The religion paradox: If religion makes people happy, why are so many dropping out?Journal of Personality, 101(6): 1278–1290.
9.
DillonM (2003) Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. New York: Cambridge University Press.
10.
EbaughHR (2005) Handbook of Religion and Social Institutions. New York: Springer.
11.
Eckholm E (2010) Early lessons in tolerance prompt fights over ‘hidden homosexual agenda’. The New York Times, 6 November. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/us/07bully.html (accessed 12 December 2012).
12.
EllisonCGMusickMAHendersonAK (2008) Balm in Gilead: Racism, religious involvement, and psychological distress among African-American adults. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 47(2): 291–309.
13.
EmersonMOSmithCS (2000) Divided by Faith. New York: Oxford University Press.
14.
FennRK (2003) The Blackwell Companion to Sociology of Religion. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
15.
FriedmanMSKoeskeGFSilvestreAJ (2006) The impact of gender-role nonconforming behavior, bullying, and social support on suicidality among gay male youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 38(5): 621–623.
16.
GoldsteinW(2009) The case for a critical sociology of religion. In: CassanoGDello BuonoRA (eds) Crisis, Politics and Critical Sociology. Leiden: Brill, pp. 135–142.
17.
GoodwinJ (2006) A theory of categorical terrorism. Social Forces, 84(4): 2027–2046.
18.
GrahamET (2007) The danger of Durkheim: Ambiguity in the theory of social effervescence. Religion, 37(1): 26–38.
19.
GrossNSimmonsS (2009) The religiosity of American college and university professors. Sociology of Religion, 70(2): 101–129.
20.
JerrysonMJuergensmeyerM (2013) Buddhist Warfare. New York: Oxford University Press.
21.
JohnsonMKLabouffJPRowattWC (2012) Facets of right-wing authoritarianism mediate the relationship between religious fundamentalism and attitudes toward Arabs and African Americans. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 51(1): 128–142.
22.
JuergensmeyerM (2003) Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence. Berkeley: University of California Press.
23.
JuergensmeyerM (2008) Global Rebellion: Religious Challenges to the Secular State, from Christian Militias to al Qæda. Berkeley: University of California Press.
24.
KastenmüllerAGreitemeyerTAiAL (2011) In the face of terrorism: Evidence that belief in literal immortality reduces prejudice under terrorism threat. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 50(3): 604–616.
25.
KimYSLeventhalB (2008) Bullying and suicide. A review. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 20(2): 133–154.
26.
MaduroO(2007) Religion and exclusion/marginalization: Globalized Pentecostalism among Hispanics in Newark, N.J. In: BeyerPBeamanLG (eds) Religion, Globalization and Culture. Leiden: Brill, pp. 355–374.
27.
MavorKIMacleodCJBoalMJ (2009) Right-wing authoritarianism, fundamentalism and prejudice revisited: Removing suppression and statistical artifact. Personality and Individual Differences, 46(5–6): 592–597.
28.
MerinoSM (2011) Neighbors like me? Religious affiliation and neighborhood racial preferences among non-Hispanic Whites. Religions, 2(2): 165–183.
29.
PahlJ (2013) Empire of Sacrifice: The Religious Origins of American Violence. New York: New York University Press.
30.
PargamentKITrevinoKMahoneyA (2007) They killed our Lord: The perception of Jews as desecrators of Christianity as a predictor of anti-Semitism. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 46(2): 143–158.
31.
PutnamRD (2001) Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
32.
RaiyaHAPargamentKIMahoneyA (2008) When Muslims are perceived as a religious threat: Examining the connection between desecration, religious coping, and anti-Muslim attitudes. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 30(4): 311–325.
33.
RowattWCLaBouffJJohnsonM (2009) Associations among religiousness, social attitudes, and prejudice in a national random sample of American adults. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 1(1): 14–24.
SmithC (1998) American Evangelicalism. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
36.
SmithCDentonML (2005) Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers. New York: Oxford University Press.
37.
StarkR (2003) One True God: Historical Consequences of Monotheism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
38.
StavrovaOFetchenhauerDSchlösserT (2013) Why are religious people happy? The effect of the social norm of religiosity across countries. Social Science Research, 42(1): 90–105.
39.
TranbyEHartmannD (2008) Critical whiteness theories and the evangelical ‘race problem’: Extending Emerson and Smith’s Divided by Faith. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 47(3): 341–359.
40.
TurnerBS (2013) The New Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Religion. Malden: MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
41.
WellmanJKTokunoK (2004) Is religious violence inevitable?Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 43(3): 291–296.
42.
WilliamsRH (2008) From the Editor. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 47(3): 1–4.
43.
WinkPDillonMPrettymanA (2007) Religiousness, spiritual seeking, and authoritarianism: Findings from a longitudinal study. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 46(3): 321–335.
