Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SOC3118: Sociology and Demography of Religion

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

  1. Is God dying? The secularization paradigm and its critics
  2. The paradox of religion in Europe
  3. Measuring religion across time and space
  4. Data sources on religion (computer lab session I)
  5. Religion and gender
  6. Religion and socioeconomic status
  7. Religion, health and well-being
  8. Religion and the family
  9. Religious statistics and correlations (computer lab session II)
  10. The future of religion
  11. Spirituality and New Age religions

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
221280

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity22Weekly 2 hour lectures\computer lab sessions where we go over topics and materials
Guided Independent Study48Reading and preparing for seminars (4-6 hours per week);
Guided Independent Study80Study tasks directed by the module leader: e.g. 20 hours for the practical exercise and 60 hours for the final research report.

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

Pew Research Centre, Religion and Public Life: http://www.pewforum.org/

European Social Survey Cumulative File, ESS 1-7 (2016). Data file edition 1.0. NSD - Norwegian Centre for Research Data, Norway - Data Archive and distributor of ESS data for ESS ERIC. https://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/

Inglehart, R., C. Haerpfer, A. Moreno, C. Welzel, K. Kizilova, J. Diez-Medrano, M. Lagos, P. Norris, E. Ponarin & B. Puranen et al. (eds.). 2014. World Values Survey: Round Six - Country-Pooled Datafile Version: www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSDocumentationWV6.jsp. Madrid: JD Systems Institute. 

ISSP Research Group (2018): International Social Survey Programme: Religion III - ISSP 2008. GESIS Data Archive, Cologne. ZA4950 Data file Version 2.3.0, doi:10.4232/1.13161