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Some Outlines of “Invisible Religion” in Middle Class America

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Abstract

Most sociologists of religion agree that traditional Jewish and Christian institutions do not encompass the total of significant meanings and ultimate commitments in middle class America. “Religion” defined in such “generic” terms includes a broader realm of phenomena. But the exact analysis of this broader realm, variously called “non-church religion”, “civil religion”, “non-traditional religion”, “the sacred”, and other names, has been perplexing.1 Sociologists have made little progress on it.

I would like to thank Donald Luidens for his assistance in preparing this paper, and G. Daniel Batson, Everett Perry, and Dudley Sarfaty for helpful comments on earlier drafts.

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© 1978 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden

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Hoge, D.R. (1978). Some Outlines of “Invisible Religion” in Middle Class America. In: Dux, G., Luckmann, T. (eds) Beiträge zur Wissenssoziologie, Beiträge zur Religionssoziologie / Contributions to the Sociology of Knowledge, Contributions to the Sociology of Religion. Internationales Jahrbuch für Wissens- und Religionssoziologie / International Yearbook for Sociology of Knowledge and Religion, vol 11. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-663-14484-7_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-663-14484-7_6

  • Publisher Name: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-531-11414-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-663-14484-7

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