Whereas psychology has particularly studied motivation as a processus, sociology, despite Weber's and Mills's contributions, has often neglected to conceive the status of motives. This article tries to show that a sociological study of motives should contribute to a better understanding of some religious phenomena which are related to our technological societies. The author describes the motive as an act of social communication and as a function of language, which permits a reconsideration of the problem of relevance and validity in interpretation. Consequently, the sociological study of motives appears to be a way to understand the dynamics of social groups and to establish that sociology is a theory of knowledge. |