Essay Questions

What are the two themes that have dominated social scientific theories of religion, according to the authors?

In this text, we are given an overview of the historical "science" of religion. Firstly, the idea that religion is a social construct, and secondly that religion is a psychological construct. To illustrate this point, the authors point to prominent thinkers such as Ludwig von Feuerbach and Emile Durkheim.

What do the authors tell us about the history of atheism?

Contrary to popular opinion, the authors of this text argue that atheism is not a recent historical phenomenon. Instead, they argue that "there was nothing new about atheism," pointing to examples of ancient Greek philosophers who rejected the gods, and even evidence of atheism in primitive societies.

This being said, they agree that the intellectual "school" of atheism during the Enlightenment era was unprecedented in the way that it seems to have made a "religion out of their science."

What are the main arguments in this text?

In this text, Stark and Finke theorize about religion and its place in the world. They argue that in recent history religion has been analyzed from an atheistic perspective, leading to conclusions that religion is merely a social or psychological construct. However, they argue that this reading of religion misses some key aspects of religious faith, and try to reconcile this by developing the scientific study of religion.