---

This indispensable reference tool offers a practicing social scientist´s guide to researching social causes, components, and consequences of religion in the modern world.

---

Researching Religion: Why We Need Social Science establishes the relevance of social science for the study of religion and promotes a particular kind of social science. Even if we confine ourselves to academic disciplines, there are very many ways of viewing religion. Certain kinds of questions about religion can only be answered by the methods and approaches of social science: if one is interested in the social causes and consequences of religious belief
and behaviour, then one has to do social science. Steve Bruce underlines the value of quantitative social research. He shows that while detailed ethnographies have enormous value in helping us get ´inside´ religious belief and behaviour, they are severely limited by problems of scale and representativeness in
their value for generating and testing explanations. While the primary focus is social research, the examples are drawn from studies of religious belief and behaviour, so it also presents a very large number of important observations about the nature of religion in the modern world. This book is an informative, concise reference for students trying to unpick quantitative religious research. It shows how to gather valuable research and avoid pitfalls.

---

Bruce is strongest when he addresses the role of theory, which is not surprising given his substantial and important contributions in this area. Given its content and approach, and because Bruce aims to help others avoid pitfalls and problems he himself encountered during his career, the book is most appropriate for scholars engaged in the study of religion. Summing up: Recommended CHOICE

---