LEADER 03874nam 22005894a 450 001 9910454877803321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a0-674-26262-X 010 $a0-674-02944-5 024 7 $a10.4159/9780674262621 035 $a(CKB)1000000000805494 035 $a(OCoLC)449915187 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10328854 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000128756 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11138943 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000128756 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10069931 035 $a(PQKB)10292126 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3300676 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3300676 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10328854 035 $a(OCoLC)923116419 035 $a(DE-B1597)589945 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780674262621 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000805494 100 $a20031204d2004 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aCongregations in America$b[electronic resource] /$fMark Chaves 210 $aCambridge, Mass. $cHarvard University Press$d2004 215 $a1 online resource (304 p.) 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 $a0-674-01284-4 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [263]-287) and index. 327 $tFrontmatter -- $tContents -- $tAcknowledgments -- $t1 What Do Congregations Do? -- $t2 Members, Money, and Leaders -- $t3 Social Services -- $t4 Civic Engagement and Politics -- $t5 Worship -- $t6 The Arts -- $t7 Culture in Congregations, Congregations in Culture -- $t8 Beyond Congregations -- $tAppendix A: National Congregations Study Methodology -- $tAppendix B. Selected Summary Statistics from the National Congregations Study -- $tNotes -- $tReferences -- $tIndex 330 $aMore 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. 606 $aReligious institutions$zUnited States 607 $aUnited States$xReligion$y20th century 608 $aElectronic books. 615 0$aReligious institutions 676 $a206/.5/097309049 700 $aChaves$b Mark$0918465 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910454877803321 996 $aCongregations in America$92059368 997 $aUNINA