Peter Berger is the most influential contemporary sociologist of religion. This collection of essays is the first in-depth study of his contribution to the field, providing a comprehensive introduction to his work and to current thought in the study of religion. Themes addressed include:
* Berger on religion and theology
* Religion, spirituality and the discontents of modernity
* Secularization and de-secularization
A postscript by Peter Berger, responding to the essays, completes this overview of this major figure's work.

This is the first wide-ranging and accessible introduction to the fascinating subject of the New Age movement.

This book brings together over 300 important readings on religion in modern times, offering a new framework and language for making sense of religion today.

This book brings together over 300 important readings on religion in modern times, offering a new framework and language for making sense of religion today.

Comparing existing evidence from the USA and Europe, with a UK-based study of religion and spirituality, this fascinating book addresses the most pressing question in the study of religion today: are new forms of spirituality overtaking traditional forms of religion?

• Based on the detailed study of religion and spirituality in Kendal, UK
  
• Compares pioneering findings from Kendal with existing evidence from the USA and Europe
  
• Provides a theoretical perspective which explains both secularization and sacralization
  
• Offers some...

The modernity and postmodernity debates of recent years have tended to direct attention towards frameworks of periodization, and away from the social and cultural processes currently at work in the world. This volume reverses the emphasis, to focus on modes of authority and identity, and to examine the roles which existing and new traditions may play in our epoch. It announces a new agenda for contemporary social theory, moving beyond current debates over (post)modernity.
The contributors include Mark Poster, Richard Sennett, Ulrich Beck, Margaret Archer, Mary Douglas and Thomas...

This insightful and provocative journey through spiritual landscapes explores the ways in which spiritualities of life have been experienced and understood in Western society, and argues that today's myriad forms of holistic spirituality are helping us to find balance in face of the stifling demands of twenty-first century living.

• An enlightening book which explores the ways in which spirituality has been experienced and valued in Western society
  
• Traces the development of modern spirituality, from the origins of Romanticism in the eighteenth...

Religion, Modernity and Postmodernity is the first book to engage the study of religion with contemporary theorizing about culture. It addresses important issues such as whether there are postmodern forms of religion, whether theories of religion framed in terms of modernity can be recast to suit new or emerging circumstances, and how the study of religion can be better integrated with recent developments in the study of culture.

Religion, Modernity and Postmodernity is the first book to engage the study of religion with contemporary theorizing about culture. It addresses important issues such as whether there are postmodern forms of religion, whether theories of religion framed in terms of modernity can be recast to suit new or emerging circumstances, and how the study of religion can be better integrated with recent developments in the study of culture.

The modernity and postmodernity debates of recent years have tended to direct attention towards frameworks of periodization, and away from the social and cultural processes currently at work in the world. This volume reverses the emphasis, to focus on modes of authority and identity, and to examine the roles which existing and new traditions may play in our epoch. It announces a new agenda for contemporary social theory, moving beyond current debates over (post)modernity.
The contributors include Mark Poster, Richard Sennett, Ulrich Beck, Margaret Archer, Mary Douglas and Thomas...