SOC101Y1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 13: Mainline Protestant, Church Attendance, Protestant Work Ethic
Document Summary
In recent years, religion has received worldwide attention. Religion"s presence and importance is blatant in the conflict, terrorism, and peacemaking efforts in the middle east. The reality of religion is readily apparent in the tendency of the vast majority of people to continue to identify with a religious tradition. Many early social scientists were convinced that religion"s days were numbered. Through the 1990s, the widespread consensus was that religion"s influence was declining and people in most technologically advanced countries were leaving religion behind. We now know that such observers were wrong. Interest in religion and spirituality is actually on the upswing in many parts of the world, including north america, russia and asia. Today, religion is frequently associated with conflict and division; also brings meaning, sustenance and hope to billions. A basic rule of science is that what counts as real is what we can detect through our senses (empirical knowledge)
