Why the Church? Self-Optimization or Community of Faith

"The modes of thought deployed here give this book a complexity of insight without sacrifice of coherence in argument. Joas is one of the leading sociologists of religion today and this is a testimony to the comprehensiveness of his thought."
-William Schweiker, The University of Chicago "With Why the Church?, Joas further burnishes his status as one of our finest sociologists of religion. The book richly weaves together many of the principal strands of his thought."
-William Barbieri, The Catholic University of America "Joas offers one of the most significant social-theoretical reflections on the Christian 'church' since Ernst Troeltsch. Highly recommended for anybody interested in moral universalism, civic cosmopolitanism, or the fate of the religious and secular options in the modern world."
-Jose Casanova, Georgetown University