The subject offers an introduction to the sociology of religion. It will proceed historically and thematically, examining topics which are central to the discipline and of relevance to the interests of students. Such areas as the following will be covered: a concise historical overview of the sociology of religion; the sociology of religious experience; the global religious context and the comparative approach to the study of religion; religion in Australian society; religion and the human person; secularisation and the rise of modern atheism; mythology and self in modern society; new religious movements and the new age; conservative and radical religious critiques of modernity.