Stephen Hunt is a Reader in Sociology and lecturer at the University of the West of England. He has written extensively on the topics of contemporary Christianity and New Religious Movements. His publications include The Alpha Initiative: Evangelism in the Post-Christian Era (Ashgate, 2004), Alternative Religion: A Sociological Introduction ( Ashgate, 2003) and Religion in the West: A Sociological Perspective (MacMillan, 2001).

'This book is impressive for its scope and confidence... [it] makes better sense of the contemporary religious field than its rivals.' - Times Higher Education Supplement'For anyone interested in a sound and well-paced presentation and assesment of leading theories and important empirical findings generated by the top sociologists of religion today, this volume is highly recommended.' - Journal of Contemporary Religion

• Introduction 1. Contemporary Religion: changing definitions 2. Postmodernist Perspectives: the yet but not yet 3. Rationalist choice theory and its discontents 4. The context of everyday religion 5. Demographic variables: continuity and change 6. From ‘church’ to ‘choice’: transformations in contemporary Christianity 7. Faiths of certainty: fundamentalism and the religions of ethnic minorities 8. The rise and fall of the New Religious Movements 9. The New Age, self-spiritualities and quasi-religions Conclusion: the religious and the sacred in everyday life

Stephen Hunt is a Reader in Sociology and lecturer at the University of the West of England. He has written extensively on the topics of contemporary Christianity and New Religious Movements. His publications include The Alpha Initiative: Evangelism in the Post-Christian Era (Ashgate, 2004), Alternative Religion: A Sociological Introduction ( Ashgate, 2003) and Religion in the West: A Sociological Perspective (MacMillan, 2001).

'This book is impressive for its scope and confidence... [it] makes better sense of the contemporary religious field than its rivals.' - Times Higher Education Supplement'For anyone interested in a sound and well-paced presentation and assesment of leading theories and important empirical findings generated by the top sociologists of religion today, this volume is highly recommended.' - Journal of Contemporary Religion

• Introduction 1. Contemporary Religion: changing definitions 2. Postmodernist Perspectives: the yet but not yet 3. Rationalist choice theory and its discontents 4. The context of everyday religion 5. Demographic variables: continuity and change 6. From ‘church’ to ‘choice’: transformations in contemporary Christianity 7. Faiths of certainty: fundamentalism and the religions of ethnic minorities 8. The rise and fall of the New Religious Movements 9. The New Age, self-spiritualities and quasi-religions Conclusion: the religious and the sacred in everyday life

Stephen Hunt is a Reader in Sociology and lecturer at the University of the West of England. He has written extensively on the topics of contemporary Christianity and New Religious Movements. His publications include The Alpha Initiative: Evangelism in the Post-Christian Era (Ashgate, 2004), Alternative Religion: A Sociological Introduction ( Ashgate, 2003) and Religion in the West: A Sociological Perspective (MacMillan, 2001).

'This book is impressive for its scope and confidence... [it] makes better sense of the contemporary religious field than its rivals.' - Times Higher Education Supplement'For anyone interested in a sound and well-paced presentation and assesment of leading theories and important empirical findings generated by the top sociologists of religion today, this volume is highly recommended.' - Journal of Contemporary Religion

• Introduction 1. Contemporary Religion: changing definitions 2. Postmodernist Perspectives: the yet but not yet 3. Rationalist choice theory and its discontents 4. The context of everyday religion 5. Demographic variables: continuity and change 6. From ‘church’ to ‘choice’: transformations in contemporary Christianity 7. Faiths of certainty: fundamentalism and the religions of ethnic minorities 8. The rise and fall of the New Religious Movements 9. The New Age, self-spiritualities and quasi-religions Conclusion: the religious and the sacred in everyday life