At 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 dimensions of American congregational life. Her book is the first to depict the complex resource base supporting American congregations, the enormous web of partners with whom congregations work, and the range of institutional patterns they exhibit.
Contrary to many gloomy forecasts, Pillars of Faith: American Congregations and Their Partners argues that organized religion in the United States is robust and vigorous-and that it can handle the increasing demands of escalating diversity and mobility the future is sure to bring.
By:
Nancy Tatom Ammerman
Imprint: University of California Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 23mm
Weight: 499g
ISBN: 9780520243125
ISBN 10: 0520243129
Pages: 354
Publication Date: 04 April 2005
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgments 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
Nancy Tatom Ammerman, Professor of Sociology of Religion at Boston University, is the author of Congregation and Community(1997) and Baptist Battles (1990) and co-editor of Work, Family, and Religion in Contemporary America (1995) and Studying Congregations (1998).
Reviews for Pillars of Faith: American Congregations and Their Partners
"""This is a book of great importance that gives us an unprecedented picture of lived American religion while challenging stereotypes and conventional wisdom."""
