Congregational Size and the Decline of Sectarian Commitment: The Case of the Jehovah's Witnesses in South and North America
The analysis of membership and activity data among Jehovah's Witnesses in South and North America during 1950–1976 partially supports a number of hypotheses derived from the traditional Troeltsch-Weber church sect model. Over a period of twenty-six years, the average congregation increased in s...
| Authors: | ; |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
1979
|
| In: |
Sociological analysis
Year: 1979, Volume: 40, Issue: 1, Pages: 63-70 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The analysis of membership and activity data among Jehovah's Witnesses in South and North America during 1950–1976 partially supports a number of hypotheses derived from the traditional Troeltsch-Weber church sect model. Over a period of twenty-six years, the average congregation increased in size and levels of commitment decreased. In addition, the relative proportion of those members who were highly committed decreased over time as congregations became larger. Brazil and Paraguay do not fit these hypothesized patterns, and the Witnesses in the United States seemed to become more commited even as the local congregation developed church-like characteristics. Several suggestions are made concerning possible refinements of the church-sect model. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2325-7873 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociological analysis
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3710497 |