30 Robert Wuthnow
about sociological theory, methods, and normative concerns. Sociology, just as reli-
gion, adapts to its surroundings by creating an identity for itself and by developing
arguments that justify its existence. Wading into the literature produced by earlier gen-
erations of sociologists, one often senses that they protested too much – producing
studies and treatises that aimed mostly to demonstrate that it was beneficial to adopt
a sociological perspective on the world. As the discipline has matured, there has been
less need of such posturing. And, as sociology gains a firmer sense of its own identity,
the study of religion will surely find even more room in which to flourish.