If Sociology Is an Empirical Science and Thus Based on Observation

question 29

Essay

If sociology is an empirical science and thus based on observation, how can sociologists study concepts that cannot be observed? Provide a specific example of a concept and discuss how it could be studied.

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Definitions:

Religious Fundamentalism

A strict adherence to specific theological doctrines typically in reaction against what its followers perceive as a dangerous modernism, leading to an emphasis on purity and the desire to return to a previous ideal from which believers have begun to drift.

Eighteenth Century

The period of time from January 1, 1701, through December 31, 1800, marking the 18th century of the Gregorian calendar, a period noted for significant economic, cultural, and political changes in history.

Father Junípero Serra

Missionary who began and directed the California mission system in the 1770s and 1780s. Serra presided over the conversion of many Indians to Christianity, but also engaged them in forced labor.