Sociological Theory of Religion Warren S. Goldstein* Center for Critical Research on Religion and Harvard University Abstract This article provides an overview of the sociological theory of religion- that is, the sociological theory that is used to guide the empirical research in the sociology of religion. Mainstream socio- logical theory of religion went through four distinct phases: 1) classical (Emile Durkheim and Max Weber) 2) the old paradigm 3) the new paradigm 4) the neo-secularization paradigm. The article concludes by calling for a critical perspective, which while prevalent in religious studies and the other subfields of sociology is absent from the sociological study of religion. Introduction Thomas Luckmann (1967) in The Invisible Religion coined the term ‘‘sociological theory of religion.’’ It provides the theoretical framework, which guides empirical research in the subfield of sociology of religion. Rooted in the theories of Max Weber and Emile Durkheim, one of the central debates in the subfield has been over the theory of seculari- zation. Sociologists who belong to what is now referred to as ‘‘the old paradigm’’ in the sociology of religion were strong proponents of the theory of secularization. The ‘‘new paradigm’’ in the sociology of religion responding to the religious upsurge, which began during the late 1970s, placed the theory of secularization into question. ‘‘The neo- secularization’’ paradigm has modified the theories of secularization in response to the criticisms made of the old paradigm by the new (Yamane 1997). However, what is lack- ing in the debate over the theory of secularization is a more critical approach. While a critical approach is absent in the subfield of sociology of religion, it has a strong presence not only in the parent discipline of sociology but in religious studies as well. The Classics: Emile Durkheim and Max Weber There is broad consensus in the subdiscipline of sociology of religion that Emile Durk- heim and Max Weber provide the theoretical and methodological foundations for it (Luckmann 1967, p. 12, 19; McLoughlin 1978, p. 217; Casanova 1994, p. 17; Lechner 1997, p. 184;). Durkheim was a functionalist. He viewed modern society as an organism divided into different organs, each one having a different function. In his first book, The Division of Labor in Society (1893), he described two forms of social organization- a primitive one based on mechanical solidarity and a modern one based on organic solidarity. A horde, a clan, or a tribe is based on mechanical society. In it, there is very little division of labor. Each member of it performs the same function and could survive on their own (like the rings of an earthworm). What holds it together is harsh (retributive) forms of punishment and strong states of what he called ‘‘the collective conscience’’ (religious beliefs). As soci- ety ‘‘evolves,’’ there is an increasing division of labor. Modern society becomes highly Religion Compass 6/7 (2012): 347–353, 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2012.00362.x ª 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd