In this paper the author claims that basic premises and concepts of sociology are secularised versions of theological concepts, while the personal biographies of the early sociologists determined their attitude to religion and fostered the quasi-religious ambitions of the new discipline. Sociological imagination, as envisioned by C. W. Mills, was specifically supposed to replace religious imagination in explaining human fears, suffering and longings. However, the recent postmodern turn in humanities opened up a possibility of a post-secular sociology: one that is conscious of its own limits, mindful of ideological premises inherent in much of sociological research, and ready to appreciate the 'sociological' insights present in other systems of knowledge, such as religion.