The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion

While everyone in English is reading the theological readings of dead Nazis, they should be reading this book instead.

I love this book but my students find it relatively impenetrable.

If ideas are measured in their ability to lift heavy loads of experience into solid understanding, then The Sacred Canopy is a sociological lever made of gold. The central ideas Berger posits here--namely externalization, objectivication, internalization, and legitimation--are amazingly useful and illuminating the human condition; past, present, and even future. Berger is often praised for his...more

If ideas are measured in their ability to lift heavy loads of experience into solid understanding, then The Sacred Canopy is a sociological lever made of gold. The central ideas Berger posits here--namely externalization, objectivication, internalization, and legitimation--are amazingly useful and illuminating the human condition; past, present, and even future. Berger is often praised for his lucidity in this book when compared to the work of other sociologists, but I haven't really read any other legitimate sociological theories so I wouldn't really know. If Berger IS lucid in comparison to his peers, then sociologists must generally be pretty poor writers. He is a slight polyglot and often throws in Latin and German (...I think?). Those of us not versed in those languages--a lacking that is a reasonable expectation--have to scavenge in confusion for possible translations. But overall, this book is a good read with, as stated before, immensely influential ideas and elements, i.e. the "nomos" (another thing he has done wonders for). Anyone wanting to have a firm grip on humanity's condition in relation to society and religion should read this book and hold it in high regard.   hide

so here it is. identity, the world, all of it coming down to social construction. this is good stuff. read this.

Comprehensive look at religion through the lens of sociology of knowledge.

shweeet, yummy goodness. THE intro book for anyone interested in soc. of religion.