Dynamics of Denominationalism in America

美国宗派主义的动态

• 批准号: 9008994
• 负责人: John Sutton
• 金额: $ 4.5万
• 依托单位: University of California-Santa Barbara
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1990
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1990-09-01 至 1992-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9008994&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dynamics; Denominationalism; America

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.

本研究试图通过关注近一个世纪以来主流新教教派的生活史来了解美国有组织宗教的演变。特别是，它分析了分裂的决定因素，其中大多数新的教派已经存在，并通过合并现有教派的消亡。更传统的方法侧重于教义争议，将其作为教派边界的主要决定因素。相比之下，本研究遵循韦伯、特罗尔奇和尼布尔的观点，将教义争议视为更大范围辩论的反映，这些辩论涉及教派与更广泛的社会秩序之间的关系，以及宗教社区内权威的本质。分裂和合并被视为组织过程。根据1890年至1980年间175个主流新教教派的生活史，实证分析将分两个平行阶段进行。首先，他们计划从档案资料中收集经历过分裂和合并的教派子集的详细定性数据。我们的目标是了解内部的过程，通过这些过程，争端被编纂成意识形态，为叛乱和联盟的建立设定了条件。在第二阶段，他们将使用来自整个教派样本的纵向数据来检验关于分裂和合并倾向的假设。他们将借鉴组织理论发展出三种模型：强调教派内部特征的结构模型；强调组织资源竞争的生态模型；以及强调社会规范结构转变的制度模型。这项研究对组织理论的潜在贡献来自于它对出生和死亡的比率、类型和过程的关注。通过综合微观和宏观层面的分析，本研究有望对美国教派重组的过程有一个全面的了解。