ABSTRACT
That religion should be a researchers’ “taboo topic” in the mid-twentieth century would have surprised social scientists in the first quarter of the century. The psychology of religion seemed then off to a good beginning in the pioneer work of Hall, Starbuck, Coe, Pratt, and Leuba and was widely “advertised” in the 1901-1902 Gifford Lectures of William James on The Varieties of Religious Experience. Great theoretical contributions were being made by Durkheim and Weber in sociology of religion and by Radcliffe-Brown and Malinowski in social anthropology. Studies by Tylor and Frazer of primitive religion and its symbolic artifacts stimulated much interest. Provocative theses had been advanced and conceptual models had been made available for further testing and refinement. Since the end of World War II, however, the Zeitgeist has been changing rapidly. There are many indications of a new climate. Though at some points his operational definitions appear inadequate, G. Lenski’s study represents great advances in conceptual clarity.
