Uncommon and extraordinary aspects of social life that inspire in believers feelings of awe, reverence, and respect.
A ritual attempt to compel supernatural beings or forces to influence events in the natural world.
The theorist who said “religion is the opiate of the people, the sigh of the oppressed.”
Founded the Church of Satan in San Francisco in 1966.
The television evangelist who was involved in a sex scandal in the late 1980s.
A large, formally organized religious body that includes most members of society and is supported by and closely allied with secular and state powers.
The early sociologist who classified society as leaving the theological stage and entering the positive stage in the early 19th century.
The sociologist who emphasized that an object, place, or person is only sacred if that honor is bestowed upon it by a society of believers.
The Protestant movement that believed in predestination.
Philosophical ideals that show how people may achieve enlightenment, peace, and harmony in this world.
A system of beliefs in which supernatural forces rather than beings are the dominant power in the universe.
A small, less formally organized religious group that usually has separated from a denomination and is in a negative tension with the larger society.
Maintains that the global spread of modernization and secularization inevitably leads to the decline of religious institutions.
A small, less formally organized religious group that usually has separated from a denomination and is in a negative tension with the larger society.
A transient and loosely organized religious organization that includes religious beliefs and practices that are novel and at odds with the mainstream religious traditions.