Sociology of religion has become a field that has fostered contemporary debates about the interaction between religion and other societal aspects. The major debate has been about the connection between scientific knowledge and non-scientific knowledge.
The rise of factions of either side of the spectrum with opposing viewpoints has nurtured multiple theories regarding religion. The secularization theorists affirm that modernization, rationalism, and scientific knowledge diminishes religious authority. However, the dynamics in the religious community show that religiosity has not necessarily declined. Rodney Stark and Roger Finke, therefore, root their arguments upon the notion that religiosity has not been devalued by modernization. Rather they argue with a new model that focuses more on religious observance and religious economy.
Stark and Finke delve into the sociological factors of religion that have roused arguments between both extremes of the debate. In their approach, they acknowledge the inability of scientific knowledge to discredit spiritual belief as opposed to the secularization theory. They do a deep dive into the old issues of religion to highlight that the debate is not a modern matter but has been existent. In that human rationality and atheism have been part of the discourse surrounding religion for ages. Therefore the religiosity or the authority of religion cannot be devalued by modern progression. Consequently, they argue that the paradigm shift in religion that is taking place is in religious behavior, religious economy, and religious group dynamics.
