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[German Version] I. The Concept – II. Sociology of Religion – III. Practical Theology I. The Concept Present-day sociology considers individualization a central feature of modern societies (Society: I, II). It is rooted in the process of social differentiation or, more precisely, in the development of functional subsystems that for the most part have their own organizational structures. Individuals no longer necessarily belong to every subsystem. Commonly – though not always – membership in subsystems comes t…

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[German Version] I. Philosophy – II. Theology – III. Ethics – IV. Practical Theology I. Philosophy The concept of action is of central importance for philosophical ethics and anthropology. It is closely related to the concept of person, since persons are the subjects of action and cognition (the latter always itself an action, since it necessarily involves judgment). We may distinguish …

[German Version] In everyday language, a neighbor is someone who lives “next door” to us, whom we see (or at least know by sight), whom we hear, and in whose life we involuntarily participate. As a rule, we cannot choose our neighbors. They are simply there, and we must ¶ behave toward them with interest, disinterest, or hostility. Neighbors are part of a residential environment, which can vary a great deal in structure and spatial extent. In one case, a building may accommodate several families; in another, there may be a more extensive reside…

[German Version] I. Social Sciences and Ethics – II. Practical Theology I. Social Sciences and Ethics The term the masses (or the crowd) is a peculiarly modern, strongly normative design…

[German Version] I. History of Religions – II. Church History – III. Current Situation I. History of Religions Brotherhoods are a special form of community, not constituted by traditional forms of relationship (Covenant). They are mono-gendered groupings (also “sisterhoods”) distinguished by certain homogeneous characteristics. Initiation groups are often the origin of brotherhoods in cultural histo…

[German Version] I. Phenomenology and Social Sciences – II. Ethics – III. Mores and Church Life – IV. Ecclesiastical Mores I. Phenomenology and Social Sciences The term “mores” (cf. Ger. Sitte…

[German Version] I. Terminology – II. Social Sciences – III. Practical Theology I. Terminology From the 18th century on, the German term Handlungswissenschaft denoted the study of trade ( Handel). It thus came to represent one of the precursors of modern economics. Nowadays it has this meaning only in historical contexts. Its present-day usage refers to the disciplines that deal with action in the broadest sense, from trade through pedagogy …

[German Version] I. Practical Theology The…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Archaeology – III. Old Testament – IV. Judaism – V. Christianity – VI. Missiology – VII. Funerary Art I. Religious Studies A burial manifests and represents the culture-bound nature of personality and religious traditions that shape community; consequently, it is also a key to the metaphysics of cultural and civil religion. The history of research in religious studies is associated on many levels with the problem of burial. Studies …

[German Version] I. Social History, Sociology, Social Ethics – II. Practical Theology I. Social History, Sociology, Social Ethics The concept of home (or home country, Ger. Heimat) stirs ambivalent emotions: Heimat stands for the longing for security and rest, but, misused as propaganda, also for ideological resistance to the new and the foreign. In contrast to the customary connotation of connections to origins and the imprint of tradition (cf. Education/Formation: II), E. Bloch understands home as an expression of unfulf…

[German Version] I. History of Religion – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – IV. Church History – V. Dogmatics – VI. Ethics – VII. Practical Theology – VIII. Church Law – IX. Judaism – X. Islam I. History of Religion In the following comments the term community will refer exclusively to a religiously motivated association of people. From the standpoint of the history of religion, the formation of communities is more the exception than the rule. The fact that associations such …

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[German Version] I. Terminology The sociology of religion studies religion’s social aspects and manifestations, clearly including religious institutions, organizations, and social groups. It also studies more situational forms, less clearly defined, such as gatherings, ceremonies, and collective rituals …

1. In ordinary speech, “anonymity” refers to the concealing of one’s name, to remaining nameless, thus avoiding being questioned as a person. Anonymity is both a protection and a threat. By it individuals escape the control of a group or society and protect themselves against attack by a collective. Anonymity is also a mark of individualizing, a loss of the social relations that belong to the wholeness of the person, a loss of rootage in society. The consequences might be loneliness, substance abuse, the threat of suicide, or crime. 2. Sociology seldom deals with anonymity. The word …

1. Custom as a Social Phenomenon “Custom” is the general term for regular forms of social practice that are recognized by a society and may be expected in it. It embodies social norms with sanctions to enforce observance. For the most part, customs are less obligatory than laws. Laws are what one must do, customs what one must do or ought to do or may do. The dominant morality of a society finds expression in custom as a collection of social norms. Even in older tradition, the conduct conforming to custom is viewed as moral conduct. Yet custom covers more than…

1. Modern Problems and Issues The term “foreigners” defines individuals or social groups in relation to a particular state. People become foreigners when they stay in a country other than their own. Depending on the circumstances in the ho…

1. Historical Development The beginnings of empirical social science lie in the field of statistics of the 17th and 18th centuries. Under the influence of the Belgian Adolphe Quetelet (1796–1874), “moral statistics,” already common in Germany, was developed as an attempt to show the causal dependency of the individual on general social factors. In addition, under Quetelet among others, official governmental statistics began to be gathered in the second half of the 19th century…

1. Definition The sociology of churches is part of the sociology of religion. It deals with the social forms of Christianity, its influence on society in general, and the way in which it is affected by social factors. Compared with the sociology of religion, it has its own essentially narrower themes. It differs from pastoral sociology inasmuch as, like the sociology of religion, it is value-free. But the distinction is fluid. In general, pastoral sociology is the scholarly social analysis of the …