Towards a Theory of Tension in American Protestantism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4842591 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Eric Woodrum (North Carolina State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1978 |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 219 |
| Publication date | 1978-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sociological Analysis (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0038-0210 • E-ISSN: 2325-7873 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/3710442 |
| OpenAlex | W2345833866 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 5 |
A modelfor tension in A merican Protestantism is constructed building on Weber, mod~ca-tions of his work, and earlier explanations. It argues that conflicts over "mission " reflect structurally rooted differences in secular accommodation among laity, parish clergy, and supra-congregational staff Religious professionals ' domination of informal power structures and lay independence of church organizations influence outcomes of Protestant disputes. A broad range of primary and secondary information concerning conflict in Protestant bodies is reviewed and found largely consistent with the model. Implications of this study for contempo-rary churches are discussed. Protestant church representatives marched on Washington protesting the Viet-nam War (Hadden, 1969:122), engaged in civil rights demonstyations (Pratt, 1972:156-87), and bitterly denounced one another on ideological and theologi-cal grounds (Fry, 1975:43). During the last two decades tensions arose again between factions of American Protestantism and secular society, and within de-nominational bodies. This study extends in the form of propositions earlier explanations for Protestant conflict in terms of organizational structure. American Protestantism is assessed as a complex organization: an approach with precedents both within (Davis, 1970) and outside the church (Pratt, 1972). The kinds and character of participation in decision making by laity, by clergy attached to congregations and to supra-congregational bodies, are touchstones of the analysis. Diverse purposes are proposed for American Protestant organi-zations by individuals and groups constituting and surrounding them. I argue that support for these competing "missions " is systematically tied to organiza-tional structure. Protestant denominational structure portends not only much of the tension within these bodies but also between them and secular society. An explanatory model for Protestant tension is constructed in six proposi-tions. A variety of data is then presented to illustrate and assess the model; and the implications for contemporary American Protestantism are discussed
Protestantism · Sociology · State (computer science) · Tension (geology) · Computer Science · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Society, and Development · Religious studies · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,09 |
| Citation span | 1980 - 1999 (20) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |