Dynamics of Denominationalism in America

本研究试图了解有组织的 宗教在美国通过关注生活的历史， 在近世纪的主流新教教派。 在 特别是，它分析了分裂的决定因素， 大多数新的教派已经存在， 通过合并现有的面额。 更常规的 方法侧重于理论争议作为主要的决定因素 国家边界。 相比之下，这项研究遵循 韦伯，特勒尔奇，和尼布尔在治疗理论争议， 对有关人类与自然之间关系的 教派和更广泛的社会秩序，以及关于 宗教团体内的权威。 分裂和合并是 被视为组织过程。 借鉴生活史 在1890年到1980年间， 实证分析将分两个平行阶段进行。 首先，他们计划收集详细的定性数据， 关于教派子集的档案来源， 经历了分裂和合并。 目标是了解 内部程序，通过这些程序，争端被编入 为叛乱和联盟设定条件的意识形态 建设 在第二阶段，他们将使用纵向数据 从所有的面额样本中来检验关于 分裂和合并的倾向。 他们将利用 组织理论发展了三种模式： 结构模型，强调内部特征， 命名;生态模式，强调竞争， 组织资源;以及强调 社会规范结构的变化。 的潜在 该研究对组织理论的贡献来自于 它关注出生和死亡的比率、类型和过程。 通过综合微观和宏观层面的分析，本研究 承诺产生一个全面的理解的过程， 在美国进行跨国重组。

This study attempts to understand the evolution of organized religion in America by focusing on the life-histories of mainstream Protestant denominations over nearly a century. In particular, it analyzes the determinants of schisms, by which most new denominations have come into existence, and the demise of existing denominations through merger. The more conventional approach focuses on doctrinal disputes as the major determinant of denominational boundaries. By contrast, this study follows Weber, Troeltsch, and Niebuhr in treating doctrinal disputes as reflections of larger debates about the relationship between denominations and the wider social order, and about the nature of authority within religious communities. Schism and merger are treated as organizational processes. Drawing on life-histories of 175 mainstream Protestant denominations between 1890 and 1980, the empirical analysis will be conducted in two parallel phases. First, they plan to collect detailed qualitative data from archival sources on subsets of denominations that have experienced schisms and mergers. The goal is to understand the internal processes by which disputes become codified into ideologies that set the terms for insurgency and coalition- building. In the second phase, they will use longitudinal data from the entire sample of denominations to test hypotheses about the propensity to schism and merger. They will draw on organizational theory to develop three kinds of models: structural models that emphasize the internal characteristics of denominations; ecological models that emphasize competition for organizational resources; and institutional models that emphasize shifts in the normative structure of society. The potential contribution of the study to organizational theory arises from its attention to rates, types, and processes of birth and death. By synthesizing micro- and macro-level analyses, this study promises to yield a comprehensive understanding of the process of denominational reorganization in America.