The Social and Symbolic Boundaries of Congregations

The role of social and symbolic boundaries has a long history in the sociology of religion. These concepts have taken on more importance with the proposition that religious boundaries are in a state of restructuring. I draw upon theory and research on organizations and religion to create hypotheses...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Scheitle, Christopher P. 1981- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: [publisher not identified] [2005]
In: Interdisciplinary journal of research on religion
Year: 2005, Volume: 1, Pages: 1-21
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei registrierungspflichtig)
Description
Summary:The role of social and symbolic boundaries has a long history in the sociology of religion. These concepts have taken on more importance with the proposition that religious boundaries are in a state of restructuring. I draw upon theory and research on organizations and religion to create hypotheses concerning the creation and structure of religious boundaries. Using a subsample from the National Congregations Study, I analyze the outgoing hyperlinks of 231 congregational websites as a measure of social and symbolic boundaries. The results show a relationship between theological conservatism and excluding other religious groups from a congregation's boundaries and including religious media, parachurch groups, and religious resources. Religious tradition predictors also produce significant variations in religious boundaries.
ISSN:1556-3723
Contains:Enthalten in: Interdisciplinary journal of research on religion