Rodney Stark

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Rodney Stark is an American sociologist of religion. He grew up in Jamestown, North Dakota in a Lutheran family. He spent time in the U.S. Army and as a journalist before pursuing graduate studies at The University of California, Berkeley. After teaching at the University of Washington for 32 years, Stark moved to Baylor University in 2004. He is an advocate of the application of Rational choice theory in the sociology of religion, called theory of religious economy.

Contents

[edit] Stark's views on the Growth of Christianity

 It has been suggested that The Rise of Christianity (book) be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Stark has proposed that Christianity grew through gradual individual conversions via social networks of family, friends and colleagues. His main contribution, by comparing documented evidence of Christianity's spread in the Roman Empire with the LDS church in the 19th and 20th centuries, was to illustrate that a sustained and continuous growth could lead to huge growth within 200 years. This use of ' exponential growth' as a driver to explain the growth of the church without the need for mass conversions (deemed necessary by historians until then) is now widely accepted.

Stark has suggested Christianity grew because it treated women better than pagan religions. He also suggested that making Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire weakened the faithfulness of the Christian community by bringing in people who did not really believe or had a weaker belief. This is consistent with Stark's published observations of contemporary religious movements, where once-successful faith movements gradually decline in fervor due to the Free rider problem.

[edit] Personal views on religion and evolutionary theory education

Stark published an article in 2004 criticizing Charles Darwin and Evolutionary Theory. In "Facts, Fable and Darwin", Dr. Stark criticized the “Darwinian Crusade” and suggested that governments "lift the requirement that high school texts enshrine Darwin's failed attempt as an eternal truth."[1] Stark further writes that "today it is a rare textbook or any popular treatment of evolution and religion that does not reduce 'creationism' to the simplest caricatures."[2] However, as is usual with his reticence to discuss his own religious views, he has stated in an interview that he is not a man of faith, but also not an atheist:

Interviewer: You once wrote that you’re “not religious as that term is conventionally understood.”
 " Rodney Stark: That’s true, though I’ve never been an atheist. Atheism is an active faith; it says, “I believe there is no God.” But I don’t know what I believe. I was brought up a Lutheran in Jamestown, North Dakota. I have trouble with faith. I’m not proud of this. I don’t think it makes me an intellectual. I would believe if I could, and I may be able to before it’s over. I would welcome that." [3]

[edit] Bibliography

Stark has published 28 books and 144 articles according to his Curriculum Vitae. The list below is incomplete; see his Curriculum Vitae for the full list.

[edit] Books

[edit] Sociology of Religion

  • The Future of Religion: Secularization, Revival, and Cult formation (1985), with William Sims Bainbridge
  • The Churching of America 1776-1992: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy (1992), with Roger Finke; 2nd edition under name The Churching of America 1776-2005: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy (2005)
  • The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History (1996)
  • Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion (2000), with Roger Finke
  • One True God: Historical Consequence of Monotheism ISBN 978-0-691-11500-9 (2001)
  • For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery (2003)
  • Exploring the Religious Life ISBN 0-8018-7844-6 (2004)
  • The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success ISBN 0-8129-7233-3 (2005)
  • The Rise of Mormonism (2005)
  • Cities of God: The Real Story of How Christianity Became an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome (2006)
  • Discovering God: A New Look at the Origins of the Great Religions ISBN 978-0-06-117389-9 (2007)

[edit] General Sociology

  • Sociology (1985) an introductory college sociology text that has been through ten editions as of 2007.

[edit] Articles

  • John Lofland and Rodney Stark Becoming a World-Saver: A Theory of Conversion to a Deviant Perspective American Sociological Review of 1965. (an early and influential conversion theory based on the observations of the thinly disguised then little known Unification Church)[3]
  • Rodney Stark and Williams Sims Bainbridge (1979) Of Churches, Sects, and Cults: Preliminary Concepts for a Theory of Religious Movements Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 18, no 2: 117-33
  • Stark, R., “Fact, Fable and Darwin” in One America, September 2004; Part 1 in [4]and Part 2[5]

Additional biographical source: Rodney Stark. "On Theory-Driven Methods." Pp. 175-196 in The Craft of Religious Studies, edited by Jon R. Stone. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998.

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Fact, Fable, and Darwin.” The American Enterprise. 15 (Sept. 2004): 40-44 can be seen in [1]
  2. ^ Fact, Fable, and Darwin.” The American Enterprise. 15 (Sept. 2004 [2]
  3. ^ Richardson, James T.. New Religious Movements. Encyclopedia of Religion and Society edited by William H. Swatos, Jr. Editor. Altamira press. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
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