Rational Choice or Sacred Contagion? “Rationality”, “Non-rationality” and Religion

Drawing from the utilitarian tradition of economics to propose the leanest formal theoretical models for sociology, “rational choice theory” rejects the Durkheimian interest in society as a reality transcendent of the individual in favour of a revitalization of individualist and rationalist conceptualizations of social order. This theory has, arguably, had one of its strongest substantive applications within the sociology of religion, though Durkheim's focus on the idea that religion is an elementary part of the collective constitution of societies is rejected in favour of the view that religion is just one of many products that can be consumed by individuals as they seek to satisfy their self-interests. In this paper, the fundamentally non-social character of the rational choice approach is examined. Through an examination of the difficulties surrounding the notion of “rationality” and the residual category of the “non-rational” in rational choice models, it will be suggested that it is a reassessment of the Durkheimian tradition rather than a revival of rationalistic utilitarianism that provides a more valuable theoretical direction for the future development of the sociology of religion.