The Optimal Level of Strictness and Congregational Growth

Ferguson, Todd W.

doi:10.3390/rel5030703

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…found on the CoS official Twitter page, where Gilmore attacks religious beliefs (and individuals) directly on a near daily basis. By setting the CoS also at odds with the external society Gilmore begins utilizing niche preference (Ferguson 2014) by catering to the core constituency at higher tension with the rest of religious America, leading to greater attractiveness to would be converts and higher internal commitment. This strategy for growth by CoS is mirrored by the relative ease of acquiring active membership in CoS now in comparison to the 1970s.…”

Section: Environment/niche Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Organizational Analysis of the Schismatic Church of Satan

Foertsch

2022

Review of Religious Research

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Background The Church of Satan, the seminal example of organizational Satanism, was founded in 1966. During the 1970s, the Church of Satan was wracked by a history of numerous schisms. Despite the notoriety of Satanism in popular culture, few scholars have analyzed the Church of Satan as a religious organization. Furthermore, not many scholars have directly discussed the schisms that it has undergone. Purpose The purpose of this research is to analyze the Church of Satan, an understudied case in American religious organizational history, and its schisms. A theoretical framework based on religious economies and organizational ecology is introduced to account for schism in Satanism, which hitherto has been dominated by European cultural milieu arguments. Methods A historical case study is performed on the case of the Church of Satan, using primary and secondary documentation, in order to address four theoretical propositions. Results Findings demonstrate costliness, authority, doctrine, and niche/environment were all potential causes for the schisms that impacted the Church of Satan. Conclusions and ImplicationsThe Church of Satan conforms to religious economies and organizational ecology theory expectations of schism. Further research is needed to understand organizational aspects of Satanism and other avant garde religious groups.

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Section: Environment/niche Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Organizational Analysis of the Schismatic Church of Satan

Foertsch

2022

Review of Religious Research

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“…All of this can be obtained if the individual submits to the Pentecostal/Charismatic rules, even if the individual does not have any educational or financial resources at her disposal. ‐ Strictness . Inspired by Kelley ([1972] ), a number of authors have suggested that EFPC groups have an edge over their mainline competitors due to their higher level of strictness (Ferguson ; Iannaccone ; Olson and Perl, , ; Thomas and Olson ). The definition of strictness and the exact formulation of the mechanism vary between different authors, but the overall idea is as follows: the strictness of a group is the extent to which it is able to impose norms and make demands vis‐à‐vis its leaders and members.…”

Section: Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As Iannaccone (:1,202) notes, there must be an optimal level of strictness, as extreme strictness will prove so costly for members that many will eventually drop out and new converts will be scared away. On this point, see Ferguson (). On the Iannaccone paper, see also Marwell () and the reply by Iannaccone ().…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Growth and Decline of Evangelicals, Fundamentalists, Pentecostals, and Charismatics in Switzerland 1970–2013

Stolz

Favre

2019

Scientific Study of Religion

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This article describes and explains patterns of growth and decline undergone by evangelical, fundamentalist, and Pentecostal/Charismatic (EFPC) denominations in Switzerland from 1970 to 2013. We combine data from different censuses, membership registers of denominations, and a National Congregation Study (NCS) to establish and explain patterns of growth and decline. Our main results are that (1) the overall EFPC milieu has grown since the 1970s; (2) the growth is predominantly caused by a rather strong increase in membership of Pentecostal/Charismatic denominations. In contrast, evangelical denominations are overall rather stable, while fundamentalists seem to be in decline; (3) EFPC growth is not related to deprivation orientation, strictness, or socialization efforts, but to recruitment focus and spontaneity of ritual. We discuss these findings in the light of different theories.

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“…The demands that evangelicalism make are not merely strict, they are also framed and reframed in ways that accommodate the church's relationship to the ever‐changing realities of modern life. Finally, Ferguson () used culture to determine the optimal level of strictness for a congregation, finding that only strictness that is congruent with a congregation's “religious niche” impacts its growth.…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Baba Has Come to Civilize Us”: Developmental Idealism and Framing the Strict Demands of the Brahma Kumaris

McKendry-Smith

2016

Scientific Study of Religion

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This article extends and complicates the theory that “strict churches are strong” based on the strict demands that were followed and not followed by the Brahma Kumaris in Nepal. To be successful, strict religious groups must not only be strict, but also frame their strictness in ways that resonate with the everyday experiences and commonly held beliefs of their members. Nepali women involved with the Brahma Kumaris tend to accept and follow the group's demands when those demands have been framed as modern, and that framing is resonant with the prevailing definitions of modernity offered by Western development agencies. When the modern framing is not resonant, as with the case of framing celibacy as “spiritual birth control,” the strict demand is not followed, and the frame itself is rejected in favor of the practice being defined in different terms.

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The Optimal Level of Strictness and Congregational Growth

Cited by 3 publications

References 26 publications

An Organizational Analysis of the Schismatic Church of Satan

An Organizational Analysis of the Schismatic Church of Satan

Growth and Decline of Evangelicals, Fundamentalists, Pentecostals, and Charismatics in Switzerland 1970–2013

“Baba Has Come to Civilize Us”: Developmental Idealism and Framing the Strict Demands of the Brahma Kumaris

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