<P> The sociology of race and of ethnic relations is the area of the discipline that studies the social, political, and economic relations between races and ethnicities at all levels of society . This area encompasses the study of racism, residential segregation, and other complex social processes between different racial and ethnic groups . This research frequently interacts with other areas of sociology such as stratification and social psychology, as well as with postcolonial theory . At the level of political policy, ethnic relations are discussed in terms of either assimilationism or multiculturalism . Anti-racism forms another style of policy, particularly popular in the 1960s and 1970s . </P> <P> The sociology of religion concerns the practices, historical backgrounds, developments, universal themes and roles of religion in society . There is particular emphasis on the recurring role of religion in all societies and throughout recorded history . The sociology of religion is distinguished from the philosophy of religion in that sociologists do not set out to assess the validity of religious truth - claims, instead assuming what Peter L. Berger has described as a position of "methodological atheism". It may be said that the modern formal discipline of sociology began with the analysis of religion in Durkheim's 1897 study of suicide rates among Roman Catholic and Protestant populations . Max Weber published four major texts on religion in a context of economic sociology and social stratification: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905), The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism (1915), The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism (1915), and Ancient Judaism (1920). Contemporary debates often centre on topics such as secularization, civil religion, the intersection of religion and economics and the role of religion in a context of globalization and multiculturalism . </P> <P> The sociology of change and development attempts to understand how societies develop and how they can be changed . This includes studying many different aspects of society, for example demographic trends, political or technological trends, or changes in culture . Within this field, sociologists often use macrosociological methods or historical - comparative methods . In contemporary studies of social change, there are overlaps with international development or community development . However, most of the founders of sociology had theories of social change based on their study of history . For instance, Marx contended that the material circumstances of society ultimately caused the ideal or cultural aspects of society, while Weber argued that it was in fact the cultural mores of Protestantism that ushered in a transformation of material circumstances . In contrast to both, Durkheim argued that societies moved from simple to complex through a process of sociocultural evolution . Sociologists in this field also study processes of globalization and imperialism . Most notably, Immanuel Wallerstein extends Marx's theoretical frame to include large spans of time and the entire globe in what is known as world systems theory . Development sociology is also heavily influenced by post-colonialism . In recent years, Raewyn Connell issued a critique of the bias in sociological research towards countries in the Global North . She argues that this bias blinds sociologists to the lived experiences of the Global South, specifically, so - called, "Northern Theory" lacks an adequate theory of imperialism and colonialism . </P> <P> There are many organizations studying social change, including the Fernand Braudel Center for the Study of Economies, Historical Systems, and Civilizations, and the Global Social Change Research Project . </P>

Who are commonly regarded as the three founders of sociology