{"product_id":"9780745620473","title":"Religion as a Chain of Memory","description":"\u003ch1\u003eReligion as a Chain of Memory\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch3\u003eDaniele Hervieu-Leger\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eSocial Science \/ Sociology of Religion\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis is a major new account of the nature of religion and its changing role in modern societies, by one of the most original French sociologists writing on religion today. In a stylish and accessible study, Hervieu-Léger addresses the problem of how to distinguish religion from other systems of meaning in modern Western society.  \u003cp\u003eThe crucial point, she argues, is the chain of memory and tradition which makes the individual believer a member of the community. From this point of view, religion is the ideological, symbolic and social device by which individual and collective awareness of belonging to a lineage of believers is created and controlled.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eModern societies, Hervieu-L\u0026amp;eacute:ger argues, are not more rational than past societies, but rather suffer from a kind of collective amnesia. They are less and less capable of maintaining a living collective 'chain' of memory as a source of meaning. However, as major religious traditions decline, a range of surrogate memories appears, which also permit the contraction of collective identities. These 'small memories' are creating an upsurge of 'emotional communities' and the affirmation of ethno-religions within Europe and elsewhere.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis book will be essential reading for students and scholars of theology, religious studies and sociology.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cb\u003eDani?le Hervieu-LUger\u003c\/b\u003e is Director of Studies at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, and chief editor of the Archives des Sciences Sociales des Religions.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e08 June 2000\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePolity Press\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePolity\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9780745620473\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePaperback \/ softback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e216\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight (oz): \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e11.0\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Polity Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44384137281676,"sku":"9780745620473","price":22.46,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/9780745620473_691ee03b-c152-4bb2-8c19-1ab78bf9a553.jpg?v=1780198324","url":"https:\/\/fh90cf-fv.myshopify.com\/products\/9780745620473","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}