The ‘Religious District’ of Elite Congregations: Reproducing Spatial Centrality and Redefining Mission
Elite congregations in urban areas form a “religious district,” a socially constructed religious space, that reproduces yet continually redefines the meaning of that space. I apply insights from urban ecology, the new urban geography, and ‘agency’ theory to examine how congregations in a religious d...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
2003
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| In: |
Sociology of religion
Year: 2003, Volume: 64, Issue: 1, Pages: 47-64 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Elite congregations in urban areas form a “religious district,” a socially constructed religious space, that reproduces yet continually redefines the meaning of that space. I apply insights from urban ecology, the new urban geography, and ‘agency’ theory to examine how congregations in a religious district are shaped by their geographic, cultural, and social contexts. Yet, partly through the changing social geography and partly through the conflicts and struggles of daily congregational life, a new ecological mix emerges that is both anchored in the structures of denominational and urban history of this particular social and geographic environment, but also impressed by creative human actors. Finally, I examine how congregations use the continually evolving religious district to support their mission. |
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| ISSN: | 1759-8818 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociology of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3712268 |