2008 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: Congregationally-Based Religion: Boon or Bane for Faith in the West?
In this 2008 Presidential Address to the Religious Research Association I examine the state of religious expression in the United States and the West, currently and historically, with a focus on religious rituals and the communities in which those rituals occur. Changes in the locus of ritual observ...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Springer
2009
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| In: |
Review of religious research
Year: 2009, Volume: 51, Issue: 2, Pages: 117-133 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In this 2008 Presidential Address to the Religious Research Association I examine the state of religious expression in the United States and the West, currently and historically, with a focus on religious rituals and the communities in which those rituals occur. Changes in the locus of ritual observance from larger communities to the congregation and changes in the logic of ritual observance from a societal necessity to a personal preference have led to a situation in which religious expression is marginalized and weakened. Religion is what religion does, and it cannot do what it does without viable rituals and viable communities that practice and sustain those rituals. The American context allowed religion to flourish in a competitive congregational environment, but like the advent of church membership that created the possibility of non-membership, the competitive parish has led to competition with secular alternatives—alternatives that seem to be winning the battle for hearts, minds, and time. |
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| ISSN: | 2211-4866 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Review of religious research
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