Sociology of Religion by Max Weber, economist &, sociologist, was o r iginally published in German. Weber studied the effects of religious action &, inaction. Instead of viewing religion as an ",opiate of the people,", o r as a method of promoting mo r ality, he simply catego r ized different religions in o r der to understa nd religion's subjective meaning to individuals (Verstehen). B Sociology of Religion by Max Weber, economist &, sociologist, was o r iginally published in German. Weber studied the effects of religious action &, inaction. Instead of viewing religion as an ",opiate of the people,", o r as a method of promoting mo r ality, he simply catego r ized different religions in o r der to understa nd religion's subjective meaning to individuals (Verstehen). By viewing religion strictly in the scientific sense, he was striving fo r objectivity, attempting to igno r e value judgments &, to understa nd religion as those human responses that give meaning to inescapable problems of existence such as birth, death, illness, aging, injustice, tragedy &, suffering. In The Sociology of Religion, he proposes that people pursue their own goals &, that religion facilitates that.
The rise of religions
Gods, magicians &, priests
The idea of God, Religious ethics &, taboo
The prophet
The religious congregation, preaching &, pasto r al care
Castes, estates, classes &, religion
Religion &, non-privileged classes
Intellectualism, intellectuals &, the histo r y of religion
Theodicy, salvation &, rebirth
The different roads to salvation
Asceticism, mysticism &, salvation religion
Soteriology &, types of salvation
Religious ethics, the wo r ld o r der &, culture
The relationship of religion to politics, economics, sexuality &, art
Judaism, Christianity &, the socio-economic o r der
The attitude of the other wo r ld religions to the social &, economic o r der