Titus Hjelm is Lecturer in Finnish Society and Culture at University College London, UK. He is editor of Religion and Social Problems (Routledge, 2010). Phil Zuckerman is Professor of Sociology at Pitzer College, USA. His books include Invitation to the Sociology of Religion (Routledge, 2003).

• 1. Introduction: On Sociological Self-Reflection Titus Hjelm and Phil Zuckerman 2. A Life in Religious Communities Nancy Ammerman 3. Stranger in a Strange Land William Sims Bainbridge 4. Doing Sociology: Confessions of a Professional Stranger Eileen Barker 5. Constructing Religion: Serendipity and Skepticism James A. Beckford 6. Straddling Boundaries: Disciplines, Theories, Methods, and Continents Peter Beyer 7. Work and Adventure: From Poetry to Sociology of Religion Irena Borowik 8. Unintended Consequences Biographical and Sociological Steve Bruce 9. Serendipity in the Study of Religion and Society Mark Chaves 10. Thinking Sociologically about Religion: Discerning and Explaining Pattern Grace Davie 11. Hurdling Over Borders: Reflections On My Intellectual Trajectory Karel Dobbelaere 12. Counting and Accounting for Worldviews: Doing Surveys and Social Research on Four Continents Barry Kosmin 13. My Specific Form of Disorientation Robert Orsi 14. Engaged Faith—My Own and of Those I Study Wade Clark Roof 15. Studying Protestantism in a Catholic and Secular Context: Lessons for a Comparative Sociology of Religion Jean-Paul Willaime 16. Side Roads and Detours: A Narrative Reconstruction about Studying Religion Robert Wuthnow

"These eloquent essays remind us of the consequential twists and turns in individual lives, the riches to be discovered in the sociological imagination and in academic community, and not least, how and why we study religion. A joy to read." - Michele Dillon, University of New Hampshire, USA"A genuinely unusual and fascinating book. It gives not only the personal background to many of the most important contributions to the sociology of religion of the past generation, but a unique perspective on what influences people’s work in this field as well as its particular modes of professional self-representation. A wonderful contribution to the literature in this field." - Gordon Lynch, University of Kent, UK