Abstract
The study of religion has a long history in the social sciences, figuring prominently in the work of Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, Alexis de Tocqueville, William James, and Sigmund Freud, among others. Building on these early contributions, social scientists generally regard religion as one of society’s core institutions, just as they do the family, the economy, or the system of government, rather than as part of the nonprofit sector. As a social institution, “religion” thus refers to suchorganizationsas churches, mosques, temples, denominations, and religious movements and thebeliefs and practicesassociated with these organizations, such as