On 29 May, St. Petersburg hosted the public lecture “Religion Without God” — the last of the Medio Modo series for this season.
A broad range of topics, from the foundations of the sociology of religion to contemporary quasi-religious practices.
What We Covered
Sociology of religion: core concepts. We opened with Durkheim’s definition of religion — the distinction between the sacred and the profane as a universal foundation for any religious system. Then Robert Bellah’s civil religion: how national symbols, rituals, and holidays perform religious functions in secular societies. Berger and Luckmann on the social construction of religious reality and the process of secularisation.
Traditional religions without a theistic core. Buddhism, Daoism, certain strands of Hinduism — systems with developed ritual practice, ethics, and soteriology, but without a personal god at the centre. What this tells us about the concept of “religion” itself.
Mindfulness. Meditative practices stripped of their Buddhist context and integrated into corporate culture and psychotherapy. The religious content removed, the function preserved.
Atheist churches. Sunday Assembly and similar movements — attempts to reproduce the social function of religion (community, ritual, meaning) without theology. Why they emerge and why most of them do not survive.
Sport as quasi-religion. Stadiums as cathedrals, fans as congregation, rituals, sacred spaces, the cult of heroes — a classic sociological analysis.
Thank you to everyone who came. The questions were excellent — the audience is always wonderfully engaged and thoughtful. Public lectures return in September. Stay tuned for announcements.