After the Storm: Closing the Clergy-Laity Gap
Jeffrey Hadden's 1969 study of Protestantism on the brink of crisis suggested that a major rift was growing between clergy and laity. In "The Gathering Storm in the Churches" he warned about the intrusion of social activism as a wedge between an increasingly liberal clergy and a socia...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
1989
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| In: |
Review of religious research
Year: 1989, Volume: 31, Issue: 2, Pages: 183-195 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Jeffrey Hadden's 1969 study of Protestantism on the brink of crisis suggested that a major rift was growing between clergy and laity. In "The Gathering Storm in the Churches" he warned about the intrusion of social activism as a wedge between an increasingly liberal clergy and a socially and theologically conservative laity. The "storm," which broke during the 1970s, seems to be abated. In its wake, this study of the Reformed Church in America suggests that a form of rapprochement has taken place. In this branch of mainline Protestantism, the clergy continue to be more liberal in political matters than their parishioners, but this is offset by a higher level of theological conservatism. Furthermore, the most important lines of rift in the contemporary RCA are not along the status divide of clergy/laity, but within each of those groups. These lines are currently based on such factors as feelings of institutional affiliation, support for ecumenism, and traditionalism of personal backgrounds. |
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| ISSN: | 2211-4866 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Review of religious research
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3511189 |
