Peter Berger

Peter Berger is an Austrian born sociologist who has had a lot of influence on the sociology of religion. One of the most known theories that Berger has developed is the theory of the Sacred Canopy. This canopy is made up of peoples constructed thoughts and views. To describe it in a better way Berger calls it Nomos; which are “patterns that society wants people to see as objectively right and internalize them” (Bartel, 09.08.2016).  To put it in a different way, one can say that the canopy is the people, and the people can be shaped into different types. For example, all people are brought up in different ways, and most people listen to their parents as a child, and take all that they say to be the truth. The experience of the Nomos is felt and experienced through: Externalization, Objectivation and Internalization. Externalizations are material or cultural objects that change the world. These objects could be anything from a flag to a building, literally anything in our physical society. Objectivation is when these objects become external to us, we believe or think that these objects can change our world in different ways. The last part of Internalization is when these object gain a greater meaning to us, they are bigger than ourselves, and we take this meaning and make it a part of our consciousness. (Bartel, 09.08.2016)