James A. Beckford
Encyclopedia
James Arthur Beckford is a British sociologist of religion. He is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Warwick
and a Fellow of the British Academy
. In 1988/1989, he served as President of the Association for the Sociology of Religion
, and from 1999 to 2003, as the President of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion
.
Apart from general writings on the sociology of religion, Beckford has been a prolific author of books and articles on new religious movements and society's responses to them. He has also researched and written about religious issues affecting prison inmates.
and at Loyola University Chicago
. He founded the British Sociological Association
's Study Group for the Sociology of Religion in 1975, serving as its chairman from 1978 to 1983. From 1982 to 1983 Beckford was a Senior Fulbright
Fellow at the University of California
, Berkeley. From 1982 to 1986, he was the President of the International Sociological Association
Research Committee 22, and in 1988/1989 served as the President of the Association for the Sociology of Religion
. He joined the University of Warwick in 1989. From 1999 to 2003, he was the President of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion
. He has also taught as a Visiting Professor in Paris, at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales
in 2001, and at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes
in 2004.
Beckford was the editor of Current Sociology
from 1980 to 1987, the Vice-President for Publications of the International Sociological Association
from 1994 to 1998, and has been a member of the editorial board of the British Journal of Sociology
since 1998. He has chaired the management committee of INFORM
(Information Network Focus on Religious Movements), a British charity set up by sociologist Eileen Barker
with the support of Britain's mainstream churches to provide the public with information on new religious movements, and is co-vice chairman of the charity's board of governors.
, The Trumpet of Prophecy (1975), which has remained an important reference work on the group. His research focus then shifted to cults
and new religious movements and the responses they provoke from wider society. On the basis of his empirical studies of the anti-cult movement
in Britain, France and Germany, Beckford contended that the responses to new religious movements reveal as much about a society as studies of the relevant movements themselves. He explored this topic further in Cult Controversies: Societal Responses to New Religious Movements, highlighting the differing ways movement members (and ex-members) relate to each other and to the surrounding society, and proposing that these differences could serve as the basis of a new model for classifying new religious movements.
Beckford has called for sociologists of religion to end their isolation from other sociological disciplines, arguing in Religion and Advanced Industrial Society (1989) that this might return religious studies to their former position of prominence, and has explored various adjacent sociological fields himself in his writings.
In reference to Islam
, Beckford has more recently argued that neglecting the needs of Muslim prison inmates, such as the failure of most French prisons to provide halal
meat or religious services for Muslims, leads to more widespread resentment and increased radicalisation among the Muslim community: "This feeds back into the community of Muslims outside the prisons, who hear what goes on and are disturbed by it. It feeds their sense of alienation." He has also commented on the increasing importance that the internet has assumed for Muslim communities, saying it had become "a wonderful device (for linking) Muslims around the world, especially Muslims in diaspora. Something like (Facebook) can kind of light up or activate communities that are already in place."
In addition to his books, Beckford has authored around 150 articles and book chapters to date. A festschrift
celebrating his contributions to the field, The Centrality of Religion in Social Life. Essays in Honour of James A. Beckford, edited by Eileen Barker, was published in 2008.
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
and a Fellow of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
. In 1988/1989, he served as President of the Association for the Sociology of Religion
Association for the Sociology of Religion
The Association for the Sociology of Religion is an academic association with more than 700 members worldwide. It publishes a journal, the Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review and holds meetings at the same venues and times as the American Sociological Association.-History:The ASR was founded...
, and from 1999 to 2003, as the President of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion
International Society for the Sociology of Religion
The International Society for the Sociology of Religion , also known as the Société Internationale de Sociologie des Religions , arose in 1989 from the International Conference on Sociology of Religion , founded in 1948...
.
Apart from general writings on the sociology of religion, Beckford has been a prolific author of books and articles on new religious movements and society's responses to them. He has also researched and written about religious issues affecting prison inmates.
Academic positions
In his early career, Beckford held teaching posts at the Universities of Reading and DurhamDurham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
and at Loyola University Chicago
Loyola University Chicago
Loyola University Chicago is a private Jesuit research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1870 under the title St...
. He founded the British Sociological Association
British Sociological Association
The British Sociological Association is a scholarly and professional society for sociologists in the United Kingdom, and was founded in 1951. They publish the academic journals Sociology, Work, Employment and Society and Cultural Sociology as well as their membership newsletter...
's Study Group for the Sociology of Religion in 1975, serving as its chairman from 1978 to 1983. From 1982 to 1983 Beckford was a Senior Fulbright
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
Fellow at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, Berkeley. From 1982 to 1986, he was the President of the International Sociological Association
International Sociological Association
International Sociological Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific purposes in the field of sociology and social sciences...
Research Committee 22, and in 1988/1989 served as the President of the Association for the Sociology of Religion
Association for the Sociology of Religion
The Association for the Sociology of Religion is an academic association with more than 700 members worldwide. It publishes a journal, the Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review and holds meetings at the same venues and times as the American Sociological Association.-History:The ASR was founded...
. He joined the University of Warwick in 1989. From 1999 to 2003, he was the President of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion
International Society for the Sociology of Religion
The International Society for the Sociology of Religion , also known as the Société Internationale de Sociologie des Religions , arose in 1989 from the International Conference on Sociology of Religion , founded in 1948...
. He has also taught as a Visiting Professor in Paris, at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales
École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
The École des hautes études en sciences sociales is a leading French institution for research and higher education, a Grand Établissement. Its mission is research and research training in the social sciences, including the relationship these latter maintain with the natural and life sciences...
in 2001, and at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes
École pratique des hautes études
The École pratique des hautes études is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions....
in 2004.
Beckford was the editor of Current Sociology
Current Sociology
Current Sociology is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes articles in the field of sociology. It is an official journal of the International Sociological Association since 1952, when the journal was established....
from 1980 to 1987, the Vice-President for Publications of the International Sociological Association
International Sociological Association
International Sociological Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific purposes in the field of sociology and social sciences...
from 1994 to 1998, and has been a member of the editorial board of the British Journal of Sociology
British Journal of Sociology
The British Journal of Sociology is an academic journal, founded in 1950 at the London School of Economics. The main founders were the sociologists Morris Ginsberg and Thomas Humphrey Marshall. Their intended title, "The London Journal of Sociology", seems to have been changed by the publisher...
since 1998. He has chaired the management committee of INFORM
INFORM
INFORM is an independent registered charity located at the London School of Economics. It was founded in 1988 by the sociologist of religion, Eileen Barker, with funding from the British Home Office, Britain’s mainstream churches, foundations and enquirers...
(Information Network Focus on Religious Movements), a British charity set up by sociologist Eileen Barker
Eileen Barker
Eileen Vartan Barker OBE, born in Edinburgh, UK, is a professor in sociology, an emeritus member of the London School of Economics , and a consultant to that institution's Centre for the Study of Human Rights...
with the support of Britain's mainstream churches to provide the public with information on new religious movements, and is co-vice chairman of the charity's board of governors.
Research and publications
Beckford's doctoral thesis was the first major sociological study of the Jehovah's WitnessesJehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
, The Trumpet of Prophecy (1975), which has remained an important reference work on the group. His research focus then shifted to cults
Cults
Cults is a suburb on the western edge of Aberdeen, Scotland. It lies on the banks of the River Dee and marks the eastern boundary of Royal Deeside.Cults, known for its historic granite housing, sits approximately six miles from the coast of the North Sea...
and new religious movements and the responses they provoke from wider society. On the basis of his empirical studies of the anti-cult movement
Anti-cult movement
The anti-cult movement is a term used by academics and others to refer to groups and individuals who oppose cults and new religious movements. Sociologists David G...
in Britain, France and Germany, Beckford contended that the responses to new religious movements reveal as much about a society as studies of the relevant movements themselves. He explored this topic further in Cult Controversies: Societal Responses to New Religious Movements, highlighting the differing ways movement members (and ex-members) relate to each other and to the surrounding society, and proposing that these differences could serve as the basis of a new model for classifying new religious movements.
Beckford has called for sociologists of religion to end their isolation from other sociological disciplines, arguing in Religion and Advanced Industrial Society (1989) that this might return religious studies to their former position of prominence, and has explored various adjacent sociological fields himself in his writings.
In reference to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, Beckford has more recently argued that neglecting the needs of Muslim prison inmates, such as the failure of most French prisons to provide halal
Halal
Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
meat or religious services for Muslims, leads to more widespread resentment and increased radicalisation among the Muslim community: "This feeds back into the community of Muslims outside the prisons, who hear what goes on and are disturbed by it. It feeds their sense of alienation." He has also commented on the increasing importance that the internet has assumed for Muslim communities, saying it had become "a wonderful device (for linking) Muslims around the world, especially Muslims in diaspora. Something like (Facebook) can kind of light up or activate communities that are already in place."
In addition to his books, Beckford has authored around 150 articles and book chapters to date. A festschrift
Festschrift
In academia, a Festschrift , is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during his or her lifetime. The term, borrowed from German, could be translated as celebration publication or celebratory writing...
celebrating his contributions to the field, The Centrality of Religion in Social Life. Essays in Honour of James A. Beckford, edited by Eileen Barker, was published in 2008.
Publications
- Religious Organization (1974)
- The Trumpet of Prophecy. A Sociological Analysis of Jehovah's Witnesses (1975)
- Cult Controversies. The Societal Response to New Religious Movements (1985)
- New Religious Movements and Rapid Social Change (1986, editor), published by SAGE PublicationsSAGE PublicationsSAGE is an independent academic publisher of books, journals, and electronic products in the humanities and social sciences and the scientific, technical, and medical fields. SAGE was founded in 1965 by George McCune and Sara Miller McCune. The company is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California,...
and UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, ISBN 0-8039-8591-6 - Religion and Advanced Industrial Society (1989)
- The Changing Face of Religion (1989, co-editor)
- Religion in Prison. Equal Rites in a Multi-Faith Society (1998, with Sophie Gilliat)
- Secularization, Rationalism and Sectarianism (1999, editor)
- Social Theory and Religion (2003)
- Challenging Religion (2003, editor)
- Muslims in Prison: Challenge and Change in Britain and France (2005)
- Theorising Religion: Classical and Contemporary Debates (2006, editor)
Articles
- "Why Britain doesn't go to church", BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 2004-02-17 - "Cults need vigilance, not alarmism", Church TimesChurch TimesThe Church Times is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper. It is published in the United Kingdom on Fridays.The Church Times was founded in 1863 to campaign for Anglo-Catholic principles and has always been independent of the Church of England hierarchy. It was a family concern The Church Times...
, 2008-06-20
External links
- Jim Beckford's Homepage at the University of Warwick's website