Social Action, Evangelism, and Ecumenism: The Impact of Community, Theological, and Church Structural Variables

Kanagy, Conrad L.

doi:10.2307/3511444

Cited by 60 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…For example, research has shown liberal congregations provide more social services and collaborate more with secular and governmental organizations than conservative congregations who focus more on meeting the needs of congregational members through the congregational community (Chaves 2001;Hoge et al 1998). Moreover, Kanagy (1992) found that congregational theological orientation, as defined by the congregation's aggregated view of the Bible, related to the prioritization of social action with more liberal congregations placing a higher priority on social action. In addition, theological orientation was important in predicting where and how individuals volunteer, with theological conservatives volunteering within their congregation and liberals volunteering more in secular settings (Hoge et al 1998;Park and Smith 2000).…”

Section: Theological Orientationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The present study extends the literature by examining the theological orientation of the congregation as a moderator of the association between individual level frequency of religious participation and social justice engagement. Given that liberal congregations may have greater prioritization of social justice (Kanagy 1992), it is expected that participation in liberal congregations will be associated more strongly with social justice prioritization and participation than participation in conservative congregations.…”

Section: Frequency Of Religious Participationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, characteristics of the individual may also be important in understanding the impact of mediating structures, as individuals may respond differently to the same context depending on individual characteristics. Although previous scholarship has examined individual (Hoge et al 1998) or congregational influences on social justice engagement (Chaves 2001;Kanagy 1992), few studies have examined both levels of analysis simultaneously. Moreover, the moderating impact of congregational setting can be tested by examining cross-level interactions, where particular individual-level associations (e.g., frequency of religious involvement and engagement with social justice) may be moderated by particular congregational settings (e.g., liberal vs. conservative congregations).…”

Section: Multilevel Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Religious Congregations as Mediating Structures for Social Justice: a Multilevel Examination

Todd

Allen

2010

American Journal of Community Psychology

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Scholars in the field of community psychology have called for a closer examination of the mediating role that religious congregations serve in society, especially in relation to the promotion of social justice. The current study provides such an examination, offering a multilevel examination of religious individuals (n = 5,123) nested within religious congregations (n = 62) with a particular focus on how individual and congregational level variables (i.e. theological orientation, frequency of religious attendance, bonding and bridging social capital) predict individual prioritization of and participation in congregational social justice activities. Findings indicated that individual level theological orientation was associated with prioritization, and demographics and social capital bonding were associated with prioritization and participation. Furthermore, congregational bridging social capital was associated with the prioritization of justice, whereas congregational theological orientation moderated the associations between frequency of religious participation for both prioritization of and participation in congregational justice activities. These findings show that specific aspects of the congregational setting (i.e., congregational theological orientation) are important to the individual prioritization of and participation in social justice activities. These findings provide support for the role of religious congregations as mediating structures for social justice. Implications for future research are also discussed.

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Section: Theological Orientationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Frequency Of Religious Participationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Multilevel Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Religious Congregations as Mediating Structures for Social Justice: a Multilevel Examination

Todd

Allen

2010

American Journal of Community Psychology

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“…The perception among sociologists and the general public is that conservative congregations tend to emphasize moral chastity over social advocacy, and this becomes particularly salient when assessing a congregation's social service activity. Researchers consistently find that conservative beliefs undermine social activism (Hoge, Perry, and Klever 1978; Kanagy 1992; Will and Cochran 1995), and that conservative congregations are less involved in providing social services (Ammerman 2005; Chaves and Tsitsos 2001; Wuthnow 2004). Evidence also suggests that the controversial moral issues often associated with becoming HIV positive may further undermine church responsiveness to this particular issue (Leong 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black Churches and HIV/AIDS: Factors Influencing Congregations’ Responsiveness to Social Issues

Fulton¹

2011

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

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The ambivalent response of many black churches to current social issues has caused some scholars to question the centrality of black churches within African-American communities. Using a nationally representative sample of black congregations, this study engages the debate about the institutional centrality of black churches by focusing on their response to HIV/AIDS. Although many congregational studies treat black churches as a monolithic whole, this analysis identifies heterogeneity among black churches that shapes their responsiveness to social issues. Contrary to prior claims, a congregation's liberal-conservative ideological orientation does not significantly affect its likelihood of having an HIV/AIDS program. Beyond assessing churches’ internal characteristics, this study uses institutional theory to analyze churches as open systems that can be influenced by their surrounding environment. It demonstrates that externally engaged congregations are significantly more likely to have a program. These results indicate that black churches maintain institutional centrality by engaging their external environment.

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“…Christians do not interpret their religion in a vacuum; they take cues from fellow parishioners and clergy (Wald, Owen, and Hill 1990). The congregational context influences church members' activities within the church and their views of social action outside of the church (Kanagy 1992;Schwadel 2002). Given the importance of the congregation in American Christianity, congregational influences may play as great a role as denominational and individual religious factors in affecting church members' secular activity and civic participation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual, Congregational, and Denominational Effects on Church Members’ Civic Participation

Schwadel¹

2005

Scientific Study of Religion

126

175

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Previous research demonstrates two aspects of religion that affect civic activity-church participation and religious conservatism. Conservative religious beliefs and membership in conservative denominations are often associated with low levels of civic activity while church participation is said to increase civic activity. This article advances the discussion of the relationship between religion and civic participation by introducing the congregational context. Data from the 1987 Church and Community Planning Inventory show that congregations vary in their members' civic activity-congregational factors associated with conservative Christianity (high levels of biblical literalism and within-church friendships) are strongly and negatively associated with church members' activity in nonchurch organizations. At the individual level, the data show that education and participation in church activities other than religious services have particularly strong, positive effects on church members' activity in nonchurch organizations. The findings demonstrate that a conservative congregational context limits church members' activity in nonchurch organizations, potentially limiting their opportunities to build heterogeneous social networks and social capital that bridges church members to other people in their communities. Philip Schwadel is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at

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Social Action, Evangelism, and Ecumenism: The Impact of Community, Theological, and Church Structural Variables

Cited by 60 publications

References 32 publications

Religious Congregations as Mediating Structures for Social Justice: a Multilevel Examination

Religious Congregations as Mediating Structures for Social Justice: a Multilevel Examination

Black Churches and HIV/AIDS: Factors Influencing Congregations’ Responsiveness to Social Issues

Individual, Congregational, and Denominational Effects on Church Members’ Civic Participation

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