A select bibliography by Dr. Rodney William Stark (1934-2022).
Rodney Stark obtained an MA in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1965 and a PhD, also from Berkeley, in 1971. He was an American sociologist of religion who was a longtime professor of sociology and of comparative religion at the University of Washington. At the time of his death he was the Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences at Baylor University, co-director of the university's Institute for Studies of Religion, and founding editor of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion.
Stark had written over 30 books, including The Rise of Christianity (1996), and more than 140 scholarly articles on subjects as diverse as prejudice, crime, suicide, and city life in ancient Rome. He twice won the Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, for The Future of Religion: Secularization, Revival, and Cult Formation (1985, with William Sims Bainbridge), and for The Churching of America 1776–1990 (1992, with Roger Finke)."
Links:
Baylor University's link "Celebrating Rodney Stark: Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences": https://www.baylorisr.org/celebrating-rodney-stark-distinguished-professor-of-the-social-sciences/
Internet Archive: Rodney Stark
Reader’s note: It wasn’t just for Rodney Stark’s excellent, and often pioneering, insight that millions of readers all over the world loved him. He also parted ways with the systematic indoctrination of the political left in charge of academia at present who insist that everyone consistently adhere to (and recite) their dogma (or forgo support for publication, career advancement, academic tenure, etc.). Rodney Stark eschewed them, and managed to beat the odds, carving out his own place in academia with a focus on pursuing actual truth, whatever it is and wherever it may be found. This too was a reason that he was beloved by millions of readers all over the world.
Select bibliography:
Books-
Christian Beliefs and Anti-Semitism (1966), with Charles Y. Glock ISBN 978-0060323554
American Piety: The Nature of Religious Commitment (1968), with Charles Y. Glock ISBN 978-0520017566
The Future of Religion: Secularization, Revival, and Cult Formation (1985), with William Sims Bainbridge ISBN 978-0520048546
Sociology (1985) an introductory college sociology text that has been through ten editions as of 2007. 10th: (2006) ISBN 0495093440
A Theory of Religion (1987), with William Sims Bainbridge (OL 2375931M)
Religion, Deviance, and Social Control (1996), with William Sims Bainbridge
The Churching of America 1776–1992: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy (1992), with Roger Finke; 2nd edition under name The Churching of America 1776–2005: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy (2005)
The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History (1996) ISBN 978-0691027494 or How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries (1997) ISBN 978-0060677015
Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion (2000), with Roger Finke. University of California Press
One True God: Historical Consequences of Monotheism (2001),[16] ISBN 978-0691115009
For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery. Description, reviews, & contents. (2003), ISBN 978-0691114361
Exploring the Religious Life (2004) ISBN 0801878446
The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success (2005), ISBN 0812972333
The Rise of Mormonism (2005), ISBN 023113634X
Cities of God: The Real Story of How Christianity Became an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome (2006)
Discovering God: A New Look at the Origins of the Great Religions or The Origins of the Great Religions and the Evolution of Belief (2007), ISBN 978-0061173899
God's Battalions: The Case for the Crusades (2009)[17] ISBN 978-0061582615
The Triumph of Christianity: How the Jesus Movement Became the World's Largest Religion (2011), ISBN 0062007688
America's Blessings: How Religion Benefits Everyone, Including Atheists (2012)
How the West Won: The Neglected Story of the Triumph of Modernity (2014), Intercollegiate Studies Institute, ISBN 1610170857
Religious Hostility: A Global Assessment of Hatred and Terror (2014), with Katie E. Corcoran
A Star in the East: The Rise of Christianity in China (2015), with Xiuhua Wang. ISBN 978-1599475172
The Triumph of Faith: Why The World Is More Religious Than Ever (2015) ISBN 1610171381
Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History (2016) ISBN 1599474999
Reformation Myths: Five Centuries of Misconceptions and (Some) Misfortunes (2017) ISBN 0281078270
Why God? Explaining Religious Phenomena (2018) ISBN 1599475537
Articles-
John Lofland and Rodney Stark. Becoming a World-Saver: A Theory of Conversion to a Deviant Perspective American Sociological Review of 1965. (an early and influential conversion theory based on field work among Unification Church members)
"A Taxonomy of Religious Experience" Archived 2014-03-14 at the Wayback Machine in The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 1965
Rodney Stark and William Sims Bainbridge (1979) "Of Churches, Sects, and Cults: Preliminary Concepts for a Theory of Religious Movements" Archived 2017-02-23 at the Wayback Machine Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 18, no 2: 117–133
Rodney Stark. "On Theory-Driven Methods." pp. 175–196 in The Craft of Religious Studies, edited by Jon R. Stone. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998.
Stark, R., “Fact, Fable and Darwin” in One America, September 2004; Part 1 in and Part 2, as printed in Meridian Magazine, 2005.
Reader’s note: For those seeking an encyclopedia of world history, the Encyclopedia of World History, 7-Volume Set (2008) (ISBN-13: 978-0-8160-6386-4) authored by Marsha E. Ackermann, Michael Schroeder, Janice J. Terry, Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur, and Mark F. Whitters might provide a starting point.
Source: Wikipedia contributors. (2024, December 3). Rodney Stark. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 30, 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rodney_Stark&oldid=1261038268