Description
Book SynopsisAt the close of the twentieth century the United States was, by all accounts, among the most religious of modern Western nations. Pillars of Faith describes the diversity of tradition and the commonality of organizational strategy that characterize the more than 300,000 congregations in the United States, arguing that they provide the social bonds, spiritual traditions, and community connections that are vital to an increasingly diverse society. Nancy Tatom Ammerman follows several traditions--Mainline Protestant, Conservative Protestant, African American Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox, Jewish, Sectarian, and other religions--as they establish discernible patterns of congregational life that fit their own history, tradition, and relationship to American society. Her methodologically sophisticated study balances survey research with interviews conducted with people from ninety-one different religious traditions and ethnographic observations that yield new information on many dimensio
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments 1. Common Patterns and Diverse Streams: America's Communities of Faith 2. Building Traditions: Worshiping and Learning Together 3. Building Communities: Food, Fun, and Fellowship 4. Building Networks of Faith: Partners and Producers 5. Extending the Community: Serving the Needy, Saving Souls 6. Doing Good Together: Networks of Work in the World 7. Nurturing Traditions: Stories and Practices for Religious Pilgrims 8. Voluntary and Diverse Communities of Faith: American Congregations and American Society Appendices 1. Sampling and Measurement 2. Denominations Classified by Religious Tradition, Polity, and Denominational Structure Notes References Index
