Religion in TodayÆs World: Global Issues, Sociological Perspectives

The importance of religion and religious issues in today's world is undeniable. Yet sociology of religionas it is conventionally taught in most undergraduate curricula does not reach a broad, lower division student population. Often, the sociology of religion course is taught as a more "ivory tower subject" than as a contemporary, "issues-oriented" subject. With the publication of this new, innovative text/reader, instructors are given a text that accomplishes two important goals: (1) first, an analytically rigorous presentation; (2) and one, thanks to the 5 unique foundational essays connected to 32 adapted readings, that allows instructors to involve their undergraduate students in the broad debates and issues that will equip them to analyze, discuss, and make their own judgments about religion/society long after they move on from the course.