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Peter Berger's The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion is, just as it purports to be, a theoretical work. Berger is not attempting to create a sociological theory of religion, but rather to define several elements that would create such a theory. In particular, he is interested in the relationship between society, and the development of society, and religion.
Berger's thesis may be found in his preface. It is clearly laid out, and is, in fact, one of the clearer passages in the book.
Berger intends, in this book, to provide some elements of a sociological theory of religion. Berger acknowledges the abstract and theoretical nature of his work, and also clearly acknowledges his debt to sociological theory and research. The reader would do well to be informed about sociological theory before attempting to read Berger's work. Berger's method is, without a doubt, sociological. Moreover, it is derived from the sociology of knowledge, and is, thus, highly abstract. Berger is interested not in concrete examples, but rather, in concepts. Berger organizes his argument around three primary concepts. These concepts are externalization, the "ongoing outpouring of human being into the world," objectivation, the "attainment by the products of this activity of a reality that confronts its original producers as a facticity external to and other than themselves," and internalization, the "reappropriation by men of this same reality, transforming it once again from structures of the objective world into structures of the subjective consciousness" (p. 4). These three terms provide a theoretical basis for the remainder of Berger's book. During the course of his work, Berger uses few concrete examples. His examples, when they appear, are primarily drawn from the Hebrew scriptures and Hindu religious texts. His data, such as it is, is drawn from works of philosophy and sociology, and religious studies. He frequently cites Max Weber and Emile Durkheim, both of whom wrote on the sociology of religion. Berger applies very few concrete examples in his sociological analysis of religion; however, he frequently discusses the changing impact of Protestantism on the world, and of the world on Protestantism. His discussion includes mention of radical movements within Protestantism, and just such a movement comes to mind as an apt application of his work. The so-called "religious right" in North America, composed of fundamentalist Christians is a fitting example of Berger's method. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Peter Berger's The Sacred Canopy: An Analysis in Church History is owned by Michelle Powell-Smith. Permission to republish Peter Berger's The Sacred Canopy: An Analysis in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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