Critical ref 1lections on the category of 'religion' in contemporary sociological discourse

Abstract

For some decades, the academic concept of religion has been examined critically by a number of scholars. There have been some sociological responses to these criticisms against 'religion'. This article argues that these sociological responses have missed important implications of these criticisms, which can be constructively incorporated into sociological discourse about religion. What can be meaningfully studied is the practice of classification carried out with the term 'religion' and norms and imperatives which govern and naturalise a specific discursive configuration of the religioussecular dichotomy. This approach indicates the vacuum in the sociological discourse of religion, which needs to be filled with empirical research, in order to map and theorize the ways in which people utilize the term 'religion' in a specific social context.