This course will help you to:
1. understand recent theories of religion at the micro, meso, macro, and digital levels.
2. recognize relationships between religions and spirituality from the sociological point of view.
3. perceive and evaluate the impact of social media on religion.
Lecturer
- Professor Yoshihide SAKURAI
Faculty of Humanities and Human Sciences, Hokkaido University - Professor Adam POSSAMAI
School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, Australia
Course Detail
Schedule: 2021 September 27th – 30th
Level: Graduate
Credit: 2
Course Format: Online – Live and On Demand
Outline
Covering various parts of the of the world, this course explores current social theories of religion at the micro, meso, macro, and cyber levels. Starting from the micro or individual level, it deals with theories on the emergence of post-dogmatic religion and the growth of subjectivised forms of religion in the non-institutional field. It then moves to the group or meso level and covers the activities of religious and non-religious groups in the public and post-secular sphere. It then reaches the global （macro） level to discuss notions of multiple modernities, transnationalism and civilizational analysis. Finally, at the cyber level the course analyses recent theories on the impact of new social media on religion.
Course Goals
- Have a perspective for religion in the study of sociology.
- Be able to discuss religious issues in the global society.
- Be able to explain the relationships between religion and spirituality.