An Evaluation of the Status of “Religious” Dimension of Culture in Max Weber’s Theory of Sociology of Religion
Subject Areas : Geneology of philosophical schools and Ideas
1 - Assistant Professor, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran
Keywords: Max Weber, Culture, Religion, Value-relation, Rationalization, Sociology of Religion,
Abstract :
The question of what role religion plays and can play in today's cultural world necessitates a dual understanding of our lived cultural world, religion's relationship with it, and religion’s place within it. Accordingly, the author will first briefly review the history of religious thought and its cultural contexts and then examine one of the most important theoretical formulations in this field within Max Weber's sociology; a theory replete with direct and indirect references to religion and its connection to the formation of social constructs. It can be boldly stated that the place of religion in Weber's theory is of such importance that ignoring it would lead to the collapse of the entirety of what is known as Weber's sociology. To philosophically examine this religious dimension, while explaining the sociological characteristics of Weber’s view on religion, the philosophical foundations of establishing religion as an inseparable dimension and part of culture will be analyzed, and Weber’s use of the concepts of value-relevance, rationalization, and their connection to religion in sociology will be investigated. Finally, the present paper aims to offer a systematic critique of Weber’s theoretical framework based on a philosophical approach within the limits of the author’s methodological stance.
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