Reflections on American Religiosity from an Eliasian Point of View

From a European point of view, one of the most puzzling aspects of the contemporary USA is the large proportion of its citizens who assent to belief in the supernatural. In sociology, that has given rise to a debate about whether secularising Europe or the religious USA represents ‘normality’ and wh...

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Main Author: Stephen Mennell
Format: Article
Language:ces
Published: Karolinum Press 2017-10-01
Series:Historicka Sociologie
Subjects:
USA
Online Access:http://www.karolinum.cz/doi/10.14712/23363525.2017.80
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spelling doaj-e7bc9dfdd054499ea52a7218abe93ae52020-11-25T03:48:33ZcesKarolinum PressHistoricka Sociologie1804-06162336-35252017-10-012010192910.14712/23363525.2017.805624Reflections on American Religiosity from an Eliasian Point of ViewStephen MennellFrom a European point of view, one of the most puzzling aspects of the contemporary USA is the large proportion of its citizens who assent to belief in the supernatural. In sociology, that has given rise to a debate about whether secularising Europe or the religious USA represents ‘normality’ and which is ‘exceptional’. In this essay, the work of Norbert Elias is used in an explanatory way to shed light on the peculiarities of America. Although Elias has often been accused of neglecting religion in his theory of civilising processes, it is argued that his closely related sociological theory of knowledge and the sciences is useful in this context.http://www.karolinum.cz/doi/10.14712/23363525.2017.80religionreligiosityUSAAmericaNorbert Eliascivilising processesfantasysupernatural
collection DOAJ
language ces
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Stephen Mennell
spellingShingle Stephen Mennell
Reflections on American Religiosity from an Eliasian Point of View
Historicka Sociologie
religion
religiosity
USA
America
Norbert Elias
civilising processes
fantasy
supernatural
author_facet Stephen Mennell
author_sort Stephen Mennell
title Reflections on American Religiosity from an Eliasian Point of View
title_short Reflections on American Religiosity from an Eliasian Point of View
title_full Reflections on American Religiosity from an Eliasian Point of View
title_fullStr Reflections on American Religiosity from an Eliasian Point of View
title_full_unstemmed Reflections on American Religiosity from an Eliasian Point of View
title_sort reflections on american religiosity from an eliasian point of view
publisher Karolinum Press
series Historicka Sociologie
issn 1804-0616
2336-3525
publishDate 2017-10-01
description From a European point of view, one of the most puzzling aspects of the contemporary USA is the large proportion of its citizens who assent to belief in the supernatural. In sociology, that has given rise to a debate about whether secularising Europe or the religious USA represents ‘normality’ and which is ‘exceptional’. In this essay, the work of Norbert Elias is used in an explanatory way to shed light on the peculiarities of America. Although Elias has often been accused of neglecting religion in his theory of civilising processes, it is argued that his closely related sociological theory of knowledge and the sciences is useful in this context.
topic religion
religiosity
USA
America
Norbert Elias
civilising processes
fantasy
supernatural
url http://www.karolinum.cz/doi/10.14712/23363525.2017.80
work_keys_str_mv AT stephenmennell reflectionsonamericanreligiosityfromaneliasianpointofview
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