1. One of Sociology's Most Influential Scholars
- Abstract
Robert N. Bellah turns 80 early next year, and Duke University Press is honoring him with "The Robert Bellah Reader," edited by Bellah, an emeritus professor of sociology at the University of California at Berkeley, and Steven M. Tipton, a professor of sociology at Emory University. The book, just published, presents a selection of Bellah's work over the last 50 years, along with a new introductory essay he has written about his career. Long one of sociology's most influential scholars, Bellah helped revive the study of religion in his discipline; provided a way to think about "civil religion" and the sacred beliefs that Americans, regardless of their particular religious affiliation, hold about their nation; and challenged them, in "Habits of the Heart" and "The Good Society," written with Tipton and several colleagues, to rise above the isolation of individualism and focus on what makes them a community. This article presents a selection from the introduction to the reader and comments from three noted scholars (Alan Wolfe, Wilfred M. McClay, and Jean Bethke Elshtain) that indicate Bellah's work continues to evolve, and it continues to spark interest and debate.
- Published
- 2006