SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION
Sociology is the science of society, its institutions, and the social relations among the population. Sociology explores why a society continues to exist, the influence of the welfare system on people, and how the interaction between strong and weak groups works. The basic theory is that no human being lives alone; s/he always interacts with and is influenced by the surroundings.

Sociology of religion studies religion as a product of the relations between the individual and society. In sociology of religion, the focus is on religion, as expressed by individuals and groups and is shaped by society and culture. Sociology of religion typically uses interviews, fieldwork or questionnaires. Religion as it 'is' when you ask people about 'it' also is of great interest to the sociologist of religion. A sociologist of religion is not interested only in the perspective and practices of the religious specialists but also in the ideas and practices of common people, practitioners or not.

CLASSICAL DISCUSSIONS WITHIN THE SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION

Sociology of religion came into being at the end of 19th century. One of the early sociologists of religion was Emile Durkheim (1858-1917).  Durkheim believed that society is an organic system. The various parts of society each have their specific function, and all function to help maintain the organism in its entirety. Religion contributes to this organism. Through common rituals, the group worships itself, and through the rituals the norms and values of society are expressed and reinforced. Durkheim introduces the concept of “effervescence” to catch what happens during rituals. The word means “sparkling” or ”exuberant”, but Durkheim uses it to describe the particular atmosphere and sense of community  that occurs during rituals (a non-religious example of effervescence could be the atmosphere during a concert or football game). Since rituals have symbolic meaning, the participants can transfer the ritual sense of community to their daily lives. But contrary to non-religious rituals, the religious institutions help maintain the societal importance of the rituals.
When ministers from the Church of Denmark pray for the royal family and the government; or when gender roles and social structure are explained as given by God, they express and sustain the norms of society. And when the church hosts memorial services for victims of tsunamis or terrorism, it is meant to inspire the sense of solidarity within society. From Durkheim’s perspective, there would be no religion if there was no group. Religion is a group phenomenon created by the community. In this sense, religion is created by society, and the individual is not in a position to influence or even choose it. Religion is created primarily by the societal structure, not by the individual agent.
Another of the early sociologists of religion, Max Weber, (1864 -1920), found that it is actually the individual, i.e. each participant, who creates religion. Weber tried to understand the actions of the individual as rational and meaning-making. When the Calvinist Protestant works hard and saves money instead of spending it, the thought of predestination makes him uncertain as to whether he shall be saved or not.  Success at work might be a sign that God has chosen him to be saved. That makes him/her more comfortable. However, because Protestant ethics also demands that the individual lives modestly, without unnecessary luxury; the money earned is either put into savings accounts or invested, instead of being spent. This ignites the capitalist system.
But, according to Weber, this rational approach to religion implies that religion changes and becomes of less importance. For capitalism works, also when the practitioners are not Calvinists. Over time, the reason for saving money have thus changed from being efforts to obtain salvation to making money as an end in itself. Religion in this way changes society, and at the same time, the function of religion in society is also changed without actually this being the intention. Society has changed because the worshippers have attempted to comply with the religion's standards. That makes Weber conclude that individual actions are important. It is primarily the actor, who creates and maintains structure, without the actors necessarily being aware of/feeling that this is what they do.
Since Durkheim and Weber, all sociologists of religion have had to consider whether the overall societal structure or the individual is the most important factor in society. Many have chosen one or the other, while others have tried to combine the two conflicting ideas. Peter Berger, (b. 1929) argued that people create religion, and afterwards religion forms the individual. This creates an interaction between the individual and religion with mutual influence on each other. With externalization, Berger means that the human being systematizes his/her world into categories and contexts shared by society.  This leads to an objectification adding structure and meaning to the categories and contexts. The result of the objectification is that the structure does not have to be described repeatedly. At the same time, man internalizes structure so that it is understandable and useful to the individual. According to Berger, the agent and the structure have an effect on each other.
 
Additional didactical proposals
Tasks to the sources:
The students work in groups. Find more (or other) pictures – it is only examples.