This fully updated Sixth Edition of Religion in Sociological Perspective introduces students to the basic theories and methods in the field, and shows them how to apply these analytic tools to new groups they encounter. Authors Keith A Roberts and David Yamane explore three interdependent subsystems of religion—meaning, structure, and belonging—and their connections to the larger social structure. While they cover the major theoretical paradigms of the field and employ various middle-range theories to explore specific processes, they use the open systems model as a single unifying framework to integrate the theories and enhance student understanding.