Social theory help?

Question

"I can't get enough of the truth! the truth being the gospel of Jesus Christ!"

I read this statement and to me it sounds as though he is trying to convince himself of said "truth". Is there a social theory relating to this?

Answer 1

To elaborate (briefly):

Durkheim - religion provides social norms which anchor people; when religion is assaulted, these norms disappear, and there is a condition of normlessness (anomie); new norms will arise to anchor us once again

Marx - religion is the opiate of the masses; false consciousness that prevents the people from rising up and rebelling against their odious rulers, working for better conditions, etc.

Weber - religious ideas give people a sense of meaning, and can shape other aspects of social life, if we were to divide social life into economic, political, religious, and other interacting spheres; if someone believes that the gospel is the truth, then we should try to understand that perspective on their own terms AS IF it were true, so we can better understand the subjects involved; perhaps, though, this is the old world view that has been broken down by modern life

Durkheim and Weber often seem to lament the passing of the God-centric worldview of the past, and show the disruption of modernism; Marx tends to show modernism's  acheivement in breaking the stale old religious worldview, as we propel ourselves to a brave new world

(this is a silly statement that I'm sure plenty of people will dispute)

Social constructionist - there is no objective truth, like the above said; "truth" is socially shaped; only those socialized to believe that Jesus Christ is the messiah and propagated gospel truth will believe in such - to Jews and Muslims, socialized differently than Christians, such statements in fact would appear very much UNtrue; in fact, the division of the world into different social viewpoints such as the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish viewpoints, adds credence to the fact that there is no objective truth - since people in different parts of the world hold divergent beliefs

Answer 2

benjamin straight writes:  This could be viewed through either Weber, Marx, or Durkheim classical theory (the big three).  This appears more to be explained through Social Construction (of Reality) theories.  Too much to go into here.