Michel DUBOIS, « Sociology of Ideology », International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Elsevier, 2nd edition, 2015, pp.573–578., , 2015

new extended version, see also first edition

available online : http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780080970868320694

Abstract
The sociology of ideology is part of the general sociology of social beliefs and knowledge. Ideology singularizes itself in the general realm of beliefs not only by the centrality it accords to the nature and the becoming of societies but also by its relational dimension traditionally defined in terms of antagonism and struggle. If the sociological analysis of ideologies was initially developed on a macrosociological level, sociologists have tended progressively to abandon the idea of ideology as a homogeneous and unified belief system for a more localist approach.

Keywords
Belief; Class; Collective beliefs; Domination; Ideology; Liberalism; Mannheim; Marx; Neoliberalism; Political values; Radicalism; Social conflict; Sociology of knowledge; Terrorism