The Comparative Method and the Special Vocation of the Sociology of Religion
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4264491 |
|---|---|
| Authors | William H Swatos (King University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1977 |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 106 |
| Publication date | 1977-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sociological Analysis (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0038-0210 • E-ISSN: 2325-7873 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/3710171 |
| OpenAlex | W2463081047 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 7 |
This essay argues that the long-run scientific goals of understanding and prediction can be achieved only through a consciousness of the comparative method as the method of scientific analysis. Specifically three points are made: (1) That the social sciences must be both transhistorical and cross-cultural in orientation and that history is essential to sociological generalizations. (2) That quantification, no matter how sophisticated the techniques employed, does not “obviate the judgment input” and that all analyses thus have a qualitative character. (3) That historically the sociology of religion has had a particularly clear awareness of the necessity for a consciousness of the past in interpreting the present and that this must not be lost in an attempt to embrace certain quantitative techniques that give a “more scientific” appearance to our work
Social science · Sociology · Sociology of religion · Anthropology · Cross-Cultural and Social Analysis · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious studies · Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory
The reinterpretation of American economic history.
Nationalism and national development.
Citizenship and Social Class
Toward the Integration of Content Analysis and General Methodology
The practice of social research
The Myth of Functional Analysis as a Special Method in Sociology and Anthropology
Society, Culture, and Personality
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,07 |
| Citation span | 1984 - 2008 (25) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |