Binaries of Sociology of Religion

The writing of this paper was undertaken to familiarize, in an abridged form, students as well enthused others, with the area of sociology of religion. Based on his experiences the author has come to the conclusion that the Iranian audience, either the students or members of the general public, have in mind particular questions about sociology of religion. Such particular curiosity is due to their specific religious and cultural setting in which they live. Yet, all these questions are not on the same par, in that some questions are more significant, more fundamental, and as such they invoke more controversy or dispute. The author, having an eye on simplification process, has made a humble attempt to answer some of the most important questions which are frequently asked about sociology of religion. The aim is to mitigate the conceptual ambiguities within the subject. In so doing, the author has focused on the following eight binaries: believer/sociologist; divine/humanly; generalizable/non-generalizable; reducible/irreducible; external-quantitative/internal-qualitative; exigent/contingent (or necessary/probable); universalism/particularism (or inclusive/exclusive); religious sociology/sociology of religion.