The texts in this course are listed below.  The books are available for purchase at the Vanderbilt bookstore.  You should review the printed syllabus for the dates readings are assigned.  Readings should be done before you come to class that day and are intended as an aid to understanding that day's lecture or class discussion.  Any readings not located in these books will be linked to here as well. 

Chaves, Mark. (2011). American Religion: Contemporary Trends. Princeton, NY: Princeton University Press.

Durkheim, Emile. (1912/1995). The Elementary Forms of Religious Life: A New Translation by Karen E Fields. New York, NY: The Free Press.

Johnstone, Ronald. (2004). Religion In Society: A Sociology of Religion. Saddle River, NK: Prentice Hall Press.

Pitt, Richard (2012). Divine Callings: Understanding the Call to Ministry in Black Pentecostalism. New York, NY: NYU Press. "Divine Callings offers a rare so

Weber, Max. (1904/2003). The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism (translated by Talcott Parsons) Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.

Aug 30 Smith, Christian. "Theorizing Religious Effects Among American Adolescents."

Sep 1 Emerson, Robert M., Rachel I. Fretz, and Linda L. Shaw. "Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes" Pages 26-65

Sep 22 DuBois, W. E. B. "The Negro Church"

Sep 27 Marx, Karl. "Toward A Critique Of Hegel's Philosophy of Right"

Sep 29 Chaves, Mark. "Secularization As Declining Religious Authority"

Sep 29 Iannaccone, Laurence. "Why Strict Churches Are Strong"

Oct 4 Dimaggio, Paul.

Oct 18 Smith, Christian. "Theorizing Religious Effects Among American Adolescents"

Nov 1 Hoesly, Dusty. "Need A Minister? How About Your Brother?: The Universal Life Church between Religion and Non-Religion"

Nov 1 Stolzenberg, Ross, M. Blair-Loy and Linda Waite. "Religious Participation in Early Adulthood: Age and Family Life Cycle Effects on Church Membership."

Nov 8 Beyerlein, Kraig and Mark Chaves. "The Political Activities of Religious Congregations in the United States."

Nov 17 Marti, Gerardo. The Religious Racial Integration of African Americans into Diverse Churches.

Nov 17 Pitt, Richard. "[Reply] Fear Of A Black Planet? Real Racial Transcendence Vs. Cultural Assimilation In Multiracial Churches"

Nov 29 Murrow, David. "Why Men Hate Going To Church" Chapters 7, 8, 9, and 14

Dec 6 Besen, Yasemin and Gilbert Zicklin. "Young Men, Religion, and Attitudes Towards Homosexuality"

Dec 6 Pitt, Richard. "Killing The Messenger": Religious Black Gay Men's Neutralization of Anti-Gay Religious Messages"