Bringing together some of sociology's most distinguished scholars, Gerhard Lenski's Sociological Theories: Assessments, Extensions, New Directions critically assesses the influential social theories and monumental intellectual contributions of Gerhard Lenski in and beyond the discipline of sociology. For more than six decades, Lenski has been one of the most prominent and significant theorists of religion, social stratification, and ecological-evolutionary sociology. This is the first book to provide a systematic evaluation of Lenski's career and body of work, the ways in which his theories have been applied and extended in multiple disciplines, and his most recent work in the study of social change, inequality, and human evolution. Whether the focus is on religious, economic, racial, gender, or other social groups over the past 10,000 to 12,000 years, Gerhard Lenski and the distinguished scholars in this book have produced theories and research of great insight.