Nonprofit Religious Organizations and Entrepreneurialism

宾夕法尼亚州立大学对美国有组织宗教的研究几乎完全集中在教会和教派上。本研究旨在探讨一种尚未被充分研究但日益重要的宗教组织类型：“降落伞教会”或非营利宗教组织（NROs）。研究人员借鉴了之前关于组织创建的工作，提出了关于精神企业家如何启动新的宗教企业，以及社区环境如何影响NRO创建率的假设。将收集一套数据，以便探索精神企业精神的来源、过程和后果。调查人员将对两组新注册的非营利组织进行调查，了解他们的创始人、成立决策和活动，以及他们的组织目前的状况，如是否仍然可行，如果可行，其规模、结构和重点。最后，将联系一部分受访者进行更广泛的开放式电话和面对面访谈。更广泛的影响这项研究有可能阐明美国宗教和非营利活动的一个重要领域，这对美国的宗教和社会活力做出了重要贡献，同时将盈利创业主义与精神创业主义的研究结合起来。

SES 0960617John D. McCarthyPennsylvania State UniversityChristopher P. ScheitlePennsylvania State UniversityResearch on organized American religion has focused almost exclusively on congregations and denominations. This research aims to explore an understudied but increasingly significant type of religious organization: 'parachurch' or nonprofit religious organizations (NROs). The investigators draw upon previous work on the creation of organizations to develop hypotheses about how spiritual entrepreneurs start new religious enterprises, as well as how community contexts might affect rates of NRO creation. A data set will be assembled that will allow the exploration of the sources, processes and consequences of spiritual entrepreneurialism. The investigators will survey two cohorts of newly registered NROs about their founders, founding decisions and activities, and the current status of their organization such as whether it remains viable and, if so, its size, structure and focus. Finally, a sub-set of respondents will be contacted for more extensive open-ended telephone and in-person interviews. Broader ImpactsThe research has the potential of illuminating an important domain of religious and nonprofit activity in the U.S. that contributes importantly to its religious and social vitality while at the same time integrating the study of profit making entrepreneurialism with spiritual entrepreneurialism.