Fundamental Concepts in Max Weber's Sociology of Religion by Christopher Adair-Toteff Max Weber's Sociology of Religion by Christopher Adair-Toteff (review)

Abstract

314 Max Weber Studies© Max Weber Studies 2017. (15 April 1905: 461-65). Both agreed that such an undertaking had to be postponed until Schönberg (who conveniently died in 1908) was no longer available. Among the colleagues, the letters to the theologian Adolf von Harnack, the art historian Carl Neumann, the Romanist scholar Karl Vossler, and the neo-Kantian philosopher Heinrich Rickert are usually rewarding for their substantive comments and discussion of ideas and literature. It is important to note, for example , Weber’s view of the radical religious sources of the American idea of ‘freedom’ (422), or the extent to which Weber was immersed in Neumann’s comprehensive study of Rembrandt during his stays in Holland, an influence that finds its way into the pages of the Protestant Ethic. The four letters to Rickert in this volume will not settle the vexing question of Max Weber’s intellectual relationship to this childhood friend, though their content and tone suggest an asymmetry weighted distinctly to Weber’s side. Max Weber is often remembered for his explosive temperament. But for an insight into his soul and his humanity there are no better examples than his letters to Marie Auguste Mommsen on the death of her husband, Nobel laureate and Weber’s mentor, Theodor Mommsen (181–82); and to Ernst Benecke, Max’s uncle, following the suicide of his son, Otto, who had accompanied the Webers for several months during their travels in Italy (186-87). It is such deeply personal and revealing documents that make Max Weber’s letters not just informative about his life and times, but emotionally rewarding, thought-provoking, and a pleasure to read. Lawrence A. Scaff Wayne State University, USA Christopher Adair-Toteff, Fundamental Concepts in Max Weber’s Sociology of Religion (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), ix + 206pp. (hbk). ISBN 978-1-137-47217-5. $100.00. Christopher Adair-Toteff, Max Weber’s Sociology of Religion (Tubingen : Mohr Siebeck, 2016), v + 208pp. (pbk). ISBN 978-3-16-154137-7. €64.00. These two volumes are a good measure of the growth in the sophistication and volume of Weber studies in recent decades. Both works are of course focused on Weber’s sociology of religion, but their scope takes us further into the heart of Weber’s sociology as a whole. Book Reviews 315© Max Weber Studies 2017. Christopher Adair-Toteff is well equipped to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of Weber’s diverse contribution to the sociological understanding of religion. As a result, he offers us a masterly presentation of Weber’s texts, context, and legacy. These volumes are addressed to scholars who are already familiar with the many issues arising from Weber’s analyses of religion; they are not suitable for undergraduates and they are not directed at such an audience. In many respects both volumes consolidate articles that he has previously published. In Max Weber’s Sociology of Religion (hereafter MWSR) he notes, ‘The ten articles in this collection represent almost half of the twenty-plus essays that I have published over the last fifteen years. Nonetheless this collection has a cohesiveness that goes beyond the topic of the sociology of religion and also displays a pattern of development’ (MWSR: 3). While this volume offers a wideranging discussion of Weber’s sociology, Fundamental Concepts in Max Weber’s Sociology of Religion (hereafter FCMWSR) is at least in intention more confined to a single issue: ‘my task here is to explain what Weber meant by some of his most fundamental concepts in his sociology of religion’ (FCMWSR: 29). This task is necessary because, while Weber ‘continually insisted on conceptual clarity, he often did not live up to his own standards. As a result, many of his fundamental concepts are not as clear as they could have been’ (FCMWSR: viii). The fundamental concepts that occupy Part II are asceticism and mysticism; prophets and pariah-people; salvation and theodicy; and charisma. There is inevitably considerable overlap between the two volumes. MWSR considers mysticism (chapter 1), charisma (chapter 2), asceticism (chapter 4), and theodicy (chapter 9). FCMWSR looks at asceticism and mysticism (chapter 4), prophets and pariah people (chapter 5), salvation and theodicy (chapter 6), and charisma (chapter...