Herbert Spencer a problemy socjologii religii

Abstract

The study presents an analysis of the sociology of religion contained in the works of Herbert Spencer. The whole study is not a historical one. Its aim and method are defined by the paradigm called the sociological neo-classicism. It assumes not only to describe but also to develop and, in some cases, to overcome old thoughts. Each of the chapters consists of two parts: reconstruction of Spencer's theory of religion and its transformation into tools useful to solve problems of contemporary sociology of religion. In the first chapter questions are undertaken which are related to the theory of identification of religion as a social and cultural phenomenon, i.e. what religion is and what is its structure. In the second chapter the author tried to distinguish some important mechanisms by which the social phenomena could influence religion. In the last chapter the author is concerned with effectiveness of religion on some social structures.