The Rise of Network Christianity
How Independent Leaders Are Changing the Religious Landscape
Seiten
2017
Oxford University Press Inc (Verlag)
978-0-19-063567-1 (ISBN)
Oxford University Press Inc (Verlag)
978-0-19-063567-1 (ISBN)
Why, when traditionally organized religious groups are seeing declining membership and participation, are networks of independent churches growing so explosively? Drawing on in-depth interviews with leaders and participants, The Rise of Network Christianity explains the social forces behind the fastest growing form of Christianity in the U.S., which Brad Christerson and Richard Flory have labeled "Independent Network Christianity" (INC). This form of Christianity emphasizes aggressive engagement with the supernatural, including healing, direct prophecies from God, engaging in "spiritual warfare" against demonic spirits, and social transformation. Christerson and Flory argue that large-scale social changes since the 1970s, including globalization and the digital revolution have given competitive advantages to religious groups organized by networks rather than traditionally organized congregations and denominations.
Network forms of church governance allow for experimentation with controversial supernatural practices, innovative finances and marketing, and a highly participatory, unorthodox, and experiential faith, which is attractive in today's unstable religious marketplace. Christerson and Flory argue that as more religious groups imitate this type of governance, religious belief and practice will become more experimental, more oriented around practice than belief, more shaped by the individual religious "consumer" and that authority will become more highly concentrated in the hands of individuals rather than institutions.
Network forms of church governance allow for experimentation with controversial supernatural practices, innovative finances and marketing, and a highly participatory, unorthodox, and experiential faith, which is attractive in today's unstable religious marketplace. Christerson and Flory argue that as more religious groups imitate this type of governance, religious belief and practice will become more experimental, more oriented around practice than belief, more shaped by the individual religious "consumer" and that authority will become more highly concentrated in the hands of individuals rather than institutions.
Brad Christerson is Associate Professor of Sociology at Biola University. Richard Flory is Director of Research in the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture and Associate Research Professor of Sociology at the University of Southern California.
Chapter 1 The Rise of "Independent Network Charismatic" (INC) Christianity
Chapter 2 The Origins of INC Christianity
Chapter 3 Innovations in Governance: Networks and Apostles
Chapter 4 The Product: Supernatural Power and Social Transformation
Chapter 5 Innovations in Finances and Marketing
Chapter 6 Competitive Disadvantages and Downsides
Chapter 7 Theorizing the Success of INC Christianity and its Implications
| Erscheinungsdatum | 18.02.2017 |
|---|---|
| Reihe/Serie | Global Pentecost Charismat Christianity |
| Verlagsort | New York |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 236 x 150 mm |
| Gewicht | 408 g |
| Themenwelt | Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Christentum |
| ISBN-10 | 0-19-063567-3 / 0190635673 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-19-063567-1 / 9780190635671 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
Mehr entdecken
aus dem Bereich
aus dem Bereich
