RT Article
T1 Does Church Size Matter? A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Study of Chinese Congregants' Religious Attitudes and Behaviors
JF Review of religious research
VO 57
IS 1
SP 63
OP 86
A1 Cheung, Sing-Hang
A2 Hui, C. Harry
A2 Lau, Esther Yuet Ying
A2 Cheung, Shu-Fai
A2 Mok, Doris Shui Ying
LA English
YR 2015
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1568583265
AB Despite the proliferation of megachurches, it is unclear how the size of a religious organization affects its members. Two opposing assumptions are (1) size is a liability and (2) size is an asset. According to the first assumption, size negatively impacts the religious attitudes and behaviors of church attendees through the reduction of motivation and a loss of coordination (Hypothesis 1). According to the second assumption, a large church benefits from the economies of scale, and therefore size positively influences religious attitudes and behaviors (Hypothesis 2). A third possibility is that the outcome variables are curvilinearly related to size (Hypothesis 3). Using an Asian sample, we compared congregants from churches of different sizes to evaluate these hypotheses empirically. Analyses of cross-sectional and longitudinal data revealed that although churches of medium size (501-1,000 attendees) may be more successful in attracting and retaining believers more committed to their religion and positive about their congregation, they are no better or worse than smaller or larger churches in fostering religious commitment or building relationships among the congregants. Furthermore, our data showed that larger churches are more effective than smaller ones in preserving the “vertical” aspect of faith maturity. They are, however, less effective in fostering a sense of bonding among attendees. Thus, both Hypotheses 1 and 2 received partial support. A sweeping statement of whether being large is good for a religious organization and its attendees cannot be made.
K1 Anonymity
K1 Church size
K1 Economies of scale
K1 Religious attitudes
K1 Religious Behavior
K1 Spiritual Development
DO 10.1007/s13644-013-0116-3