Rodney Stark
Rodney Stark
Rodney William Starkis an American sociologist of religion who was a long time professor of sociology and of comparative religion at the University of Washington. He is presently the Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences at Baylor University, co-director of the university's Institute for Studies of Religion, and founding editor of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTheologian
CountryUnited States of America
mormons skip work
Mormons are an extraordinarily educated and professional population. They have all these virtues: They work hard, don't skip school, have no scandals. Consequently, you find them in a lot of consequential places.
celebrated divine gain greater insight leading means might
Leading Christian theologians such as Augustine and Aquinas were not what today might be called 'strict constructionists.' Rather, they celebrated reason as the means to gain greater insight into divine intentions.
believes capacity fully gain god himself human humans image rational revealing
The Christian image of God is that of a rational being who believes in human progress, more fully revealing himself as humans gain the capacity to better understand.
commit high keeps levels likely men proven risky tendency toward turning
High testosterone levels have been proven to make men more likely to commit crimes. The tendency in men toward risky behaviour keeps turning up even where socialization is different, and so does crime and delinquency.
religious taken mean
Theology is in disrepute among most Western intellectuals. The word is taken to mean a passe form of religious thinking that embraces irrationality and dogmatism. So too, Scholasticism.
religious men risk
It seems that not being religious is a form of risk-taking, consistent with other patterns of short-sighted behaviour in men.
christian religious technology
That new technologies and techniques would be forthcoming was a fundamental article of Christian faith. Hence, no bishops or theologians denounced clocks or sailing ships-although both were condemned on religious grounds in various non-Western societies.
impact innovation atheism
No other single innovation had so much impact on history.
people atheism cost
People value religion on the basis of cost, and they don't value the cheapest ones the most. Religions that ask nothing get nothing.
religious taste concern
It can be demonstrated that in any society there is a distribution of religious tastes and concerns.
religious america nations
America is an unusually religious nation.
media university one-thing
For one, thing, the media are dominated by the irreligious. So are universities.
men scary matter
[Some men are shortsighted, so] going to prison or going to hell just doesn't matter to these men.
christian religious believe
The overwhelming majority of social scientists were irreligious or even anti-religious. This led them to believe that religion was a disappearing and unimportant factor in human affairs.