Toward a Theory of Religious Organizations

Benson, J. Kenneth; Dorsett, James Howard

doi:10.2307/1385302

Cited by 18 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The use of the church-sect distinction in the present study is not intended to revive an ideal-typical formulation. In fact, one of the present authors has been among the recent critics of such a formulation (Benson and Dorsett, 1971). Our intention is to treat churchsect identification as a delineator of organization sets committed to different normative models which are implemented as resources permit.…”

mentioning

confidence: 86%

Organization Set and Resources as Determinants of Formalization in Religious Organizations

Benson¹,

Hassinger²

1972

Review of Religious Research

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confidence: 86%

Organization Set and Resources as Determinants of Formalization in Religious Organizations

Benson¹,

Hassinger²

1972

Review of Religious Research

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“…If organizational processes have long been identified as a key point of institutionalization in organizations in general, the increased role of symbolic processes present in religious organizations make them even more susceptible to normative institutional pressures (Benson and Dorsett 1971; Christopherson 1994; Weber 1993, 1997). Indeed, most organizations in the field of religion employ religious professionals explicitly to institute and maintain these organizational processes, and thus the study of religious organizational processes is, to a large extent, the study of religious professionals (Nesbitt 2007).…”

Section: Review Of Relevant Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Resisting Institutionalization: Religious Professionals in the Emerging Church*

Packard

2011

Sociological Inquiry

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This article discusses how organizations can resist normative institutional pressures associated with the use of formally trained and credentialed professionals. This research draws on neoinstitutional theories of isomorphism and utilizes a framework of religious training developed by Finke and Dougherty (2002), which emphasizes both the social and religious capital gained during professionalization, to show that resistance to normative institutional pressures is possible. The data demonstrate that organizations which act to reformulate the role of religious professionals in a way which limits both the opportunities and ability of clergy to implement and maintain organizational routines and processes can successfully avoid normative institutional forces. This research draws on over 50 interviews and 100 hours of fieldwork with people in the Emerging Church, a religious movement that has arisen in the last 25 years as a response to increasing distrust of institutional authority. This study helps to close the gap between institutional studies of organizations and the sociology of religion by suggesting that some, currently overlooked, organizational activities can be more accurately understood as deliberate attempts to resist institutionalizing forces.

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“…Some researchers on congregations have favored the theoretical frameworks of open or natural systems, which emphasize the impact and importance of organizational environment, especially the local community with which churches and synagogues may interact (Scherer, 1980;Zald and McCarthy, 1987). Benson and Dorsett (1971), for example, conceptualized local churches as open systems "subject to a variety of pressures towards structural change" (p. 141) from their communities and their denominations, including "bureaucratization, professionalization, integration, secularization" (p. 138).…”

Section: T H E Organization O F Reljgious Congregations 267mentioning

confidence: 99%

The organization of religious congregations: Tackling the issues

Harris

1995

Nonprofit Mgmnt & Ldrshp

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This article considers responses to the practical problems of organization that arise in religious congregations. Accumulated research findings on the organizational features and issues of congregations are synthesized and discussed under three themes: purposes and goals, the role of clergy, and growth and change. Theoretical frameworks that have been used to analyze congregations are reviewed, and it is suggested that further useful insights can be obtained by conceptualizing congregations as nonprofits and by building on knowledge about their organization and management. At the same time, the author argues, there are distinctive features of congregation organization that demand the development of more specialist theory.

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Toward a Theory of Religious Organizations

Cited by 18 publications

References 21 publications

Organization Set and Resources as Determinants of Formalization in Religious Organizations

Organization Set and Resources as Determinants of Formalization in Religious Organizations

Resisting Institutionalization: Religious Professionals in the Emerging Church*

The organization of religious congregations: Tackling the issues

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