Review article

https://doi.org/10.21861/HGG.2005.67.01.01

Geography of Religion – Rediscovering a Subdiscipline

Reinhard Henkel

Abstract

In many parts of the world, the significance of religion has increased during the last years and decades. In the sociology of religion, the secularization thesis was the dominant framework for the interpretation of developments in the realm of religion for a long time.
Meanwhile, other explanation patterns have become more prominent, such as the individualization thesis and economic theories. The so-called “spatial turn” does not seem to have reached sociology of religion yet. In history of religion (religious studies), however,
questions of spatiality and locality are being studied intensively.
Geography of religion has been regarded a diverse and incoherent field until recently. In the past years this has changed. Two directions of research have become apparent. One of them mainly considers social geographical problems and methods while the other has
been influenced by the new cultural geography approach. Both should more frequently work with the above mentioned theoretical approaches of sociology of religion. Geography of religion must not, however, lose track of its main goal: it always has to point to the fact
that all religious processes take place in space and have a spatial dimension.

Keywords

geography of religion; spatial turn; sociology of religion; religious science

Hrčak ID:

697

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/697

Publication date:

15.7.2005.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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