Why Do They Leave? An Ethnographic Investigation of Defection from Turkish-speaking Roma Churches in Bulgaria

A rapid increase in the number of Christians and churches among traditionally Muslim Roma occurred after the fall of Communism in Bulgaria, but this growth was followed by stagnation and decline in the number of people attending churches. This article describes an ethnographic approach to investigat...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hibbert, Richard Y. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Sage 2013
In: Missiology
Year: 2013, Volume: 41, Issue: 3, Pages: 315-328
Further subjects:B Ethnography
B church decline
B Defection
B Roma
B Bulgaria
B Muslim
B Turkish
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Parallel Edition:Electronic
Description
Summary:A rapid increase in the number of Christians and churches among traditionally Muslim Roma occurred after the fall of Communism in Bulgaria, but this growth was followed by stagnation and decline in the number of people attending churches. This article describes an ethnographic approach to investigating the reasons for the decline, and in particular the reasons why people left churches. The results of in-depth interviews with people who stayed, people who left, and church leaders are reported and discussed. Implications for the Millet churches in Bulgaria and for missionaries and local Christians in other contexts are outlined.
ISSN:2051-3623
Contains:Enthalten in: Missiology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0091829613488495