1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910454877803321

Autore

Chaves Mark

Titolo

Congregations in America [[electronic resource] /] / Mark Chaves

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge, Mass., : Harvard University Press, 2004

ISBN

0-674-26262-X

0-674-02944-5

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (304 p.)

Disciplina

206/.5/097309049

Soggetti

Religious institutions - United States

Electronic books.

United States Religion 20th century

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [263]-287) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1 What Do Congregations Do? -- 2 Members, Money, and Leaders -- 3 Social Services -- 4 Civic Engagement and Politics -- 5 Worship -- 6 The Arts -- 7 Culture in Congregations, Congregations in Culture -- 8 Beyond Congregations -- Appendix A: National Congregations Study Methodology -- Appendix B. Selected Summary Statistics from the National Congregations Study -- Notes -- References -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

More Americans belong to religious congregations than to any other kind of voluntary association. What these vast numbers amount to--what people are doing in the over 300,000 churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples in the United States--is a question that resonates through every quarter of American society, particularly in these times of "faith-based initiatives," "moral majorities," and militant fundamentalism. And it is a question answered in depth and in detail in Congregations in America. Drawing on the 1998 National Congregations Study--the first systematic study of its kind--as well as a broad range of quantitative, qualitative, and historical evidence, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the most significant form of collective religious expression in American society: local congregations. Among its more surprising findings, Congregations in America reveals that, despite the media focus on the political and social



activities of religious groups, the arts are actually far more central to the workings of congregations. Here we see how, far from emphasizing the pursuit of charity or justice through social services or politics, congregations mainly traffic in ritual, knowledge, and beauty through the cultural activities of worship, religious education, and the arts. Along with clarifying--and debunking--arguments on both sides of the debate over faith-based initiatives, the information presented here comprises a unique and invaluable resource, answering previously unanswerable questions about the size, nature, make-up, finances, activities, and proclivities of these organizations at the very center of American life.