A Rumor of Angels: Modern Society and the Rediscovery of the Supernatural
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Cover of the first edition
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| Author | Peter L. Berger |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Sociology |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
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Publication date
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1969 |
A Rumor of Angels: Modern Society and the Rediscovery of the Supernatural is a book on sociology by Peter L. Berger, published in 1969. The book is one of Berger's most important works on the topic of the sociology of religion.A Rumor of Angels had a profound influence within the American religious establishment as well; his work is frequently cited in church sources.
In Berger's studies, religion was found to be increasingly marginalized by the increased influence of the trend of secularization. Berger identified secularization as happening not so much to social institutions, such as churches, due to the increase of the separation of church and state, but applying to "processes inside the human mind" producing "a secularization of consciousness."
Theoretically, Berger questioned the then current secularization/modernization scheme, suggesting important modifications to the secularization theory and pointed to the exceptional status of Europe in this regard.
Inductive vs Deductive Faith
Berger notes even given the hegemonic dominance of securlarization inductive human experience provides signs of a divine presence through signals of transcendence. He argues starting with man and his nature the argument from order, from play, from hope, from damnation and from humor. These signs of transcendence Berger feels connect mans aspirations and fears where if securarlization were the sole basis would not exist, where evil would not be the problem, the problem would be that good exists otherwise no one would care.
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