Rodney Stark
Author Rodney Stark is a sociologist of religion, whose field of study is on the way religion affects how people and societies interact. He is an advocate of the application of the rational choice theory in the sociology of religion, which he calls the theory of religious economy. He, along with co-writer William Sims Bainbridge, developed the Stark-Bainbridge theory of religion, which explains religious devotion in terms of rewards and compensators. He himself has identified his religious beliefs as closely aligning with agnostics in the past.
Roger Finke
Author Roger Finke is a professor of sociology and religious studies. He earned his doctorate at the University of Washington and currently teaches at Pennsylvania State University. His authored works typically expand on the New Paradigm or the Rational Choice theories, which imagine religious denominations as competitors in a market for participation.
