Denominations as Dual Structures: An Organizational Analysis*
Denominations as Dual Structures: An Organizational Analysis*
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双重结构的教派：组织分析*
DOI：
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发表时间：
1993
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Mark Chaves
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Mark Chaves
本文的中心论点是，教派由覆盖教会的两个平行结构组成：宗教权威结构和代理结构。本文阐述了宗教权威结构的概念，简要概述了机构结构的起源，并从社会学角度区分了这两种结构。将宗派二元结构置于组织分析的中心：(a) 得出迄今为止难以捉摸的宗教组织的社会学定义； (b) 揭示了教派内部权力转移的横向而非纵向性质，从而挑战了关于会众越来越受机构影响的普遍（错误）看法； (c) 强调各机构的作用在很大程度上被忽视，而且在教派内部冲突和分裂中经常被忽视的自上而下的组成部分； (d) 使内部世俗化过程的概念化和研究变得更加容易。这种宗派组织的研究方法符合组织社会学的最新发展，在组织社会学中，组织的子单位而不是组织的整体占据了关注的中心。从组织上来说，宗派是什么？在这篇文章中，我认为，宗派的全国组织结构已被以微妙但根本的方式误解。与通常对待教派的方式相反，它们并不属于一般的单一组织。相反，它们本质上是由双重、平行的结构构成：宗教权威结构和代理结构。这种二元结构一直被忽视，或者，当注意到时，却没有得到足够的重视，而这对于理解美国宗教中一些具有社会学意义的重要发展来说，付出了巨大的代价。本文的主要目的是阐述作为双重结构的教派的概念，并说明这种见解如何改变我们对美国宗教内部组织发展的看法，并指出研究的新方向
The central thesis of this article is that denominations are composed of two parallel structures overlying congregations: a religious authority structure and an agency structure. This artide elaborates the notion of religious authority structure, provides a brief overview of agency structure origins, and sociologically distinguishes the two structures. Placing denominational dual structure at the center of organizational analysis: (a) leads to a heretofore elusive sociological definition of religious organizations; (b) reveals the horizontal rather than vertical nature of intradenominational power shifts, thereby challenging the common (mis)perception that congregations are increasingly beholden to agencies; (c) highlights both the largely ignored role of agencies and the often overlooked top-down component in intradenominational conflict and schism; and (d) makes it easier to conceptualize and investigate processes of internal secularization. This approach to denominational organization is in line with a recent development in the sociology of organizations in which organizational subunits rather than organizational wholes occupy the center of attention. What are denominations, organizationally? In this article I argue that the national organizational structure of denominations has been misunderstood in a subtle but fundamental way. Contrary to how denominations usually are treated, they are not in general unitary organizations. Rather, they are essentially constituted by dual, parallel structures: a religious authority structure and an agency structure. This dual structure has been overlooked or, when noticed, underemphasized, and this has had great cost in terms of understanding a number of sociologically important developments within American religion. The primary purposes of this article are to elaborate the conceptualization of denominations as dual structures, and to illustrate how this insight alters our vision of organizational developments within American religion and points to new directions for research into