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Denominational, communal and associational modes of religious belonging: a study of church members in the burgh of Falkirk

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SissonsPL_1972redux.pdf (77.79Mb)
Date
1972
Author
Sissons, Peter L.
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Abstract
 
 
This thesis is a sociological investigation of church membership in the Scottish burgh of Falkirk. Its primary aim is to explore the meanings of church membership from within a theoretical context which seeks to adapt and utilise traditional conceptualisations of church and sect by employing them as dynamic forms of belonging rather than as types of institutions. Two principal hypotheses are formulated and tested; 1) that the ecclesiastical tradition to which church members belong (denomination) contributes to their distinctive styles of social, economic and political behaviour as well as to the social, economic and political values which they uphold; and that 2) communal and associational forms of church membership, corresponding in part to the qualities of church-type and sect-type religious organisations, transcend the formal denominational boundaries and dissect the internal structures of the denominations. In discussing communal and associational forms of church membership the theories of socialisation espoused by Thomas Luckmann and Peter Berger are used to illustrate how communal and associational forms of church membership are indicative of church members' differing perceptions of their social world.
 
The hypotheses are empirically explored through an examination of a sample of church members selected randomly from the ecclesiastical traditions represented in Falkirk and a random sample of non churoh members. The majority of the data discussed were obtained from a series of intensive interviews held with two hundred and thirty-six informants.
 
The thesis consists of eleven chapters. The first two are devoted to describing the sociological and theological basis upon which the investigation was conducted* the details of the procedures adopted, the historical back¬ ground of the burgh, and some of the general statistical data relating to the churches. Chapters three to six are devoted to an examination of the hypotheses in relation to the church members * participation in institutional religion. These chapters set out to describe the motivations and processes whereby people become members of the churches, the nature of their participation in the life of the churches, the nature of leadership within the churches, and the ways in which the church members conceptualise the Church and their membership of it. Chapters seven, eight and nine examine the hypotheses in relation to the church members* participation in social structures beyond the churches, the family, voluntary associations, politics and the world of work. Chapter ten is devoted to a separate consideration of the non church members who were interviewed. The final ohapter presents the major conclusions arising from the thesis through a reconsideration of the two hypotheses. The major conclusions were that membership of a denominational group is apparently more influential than any other factor examined in determining the over-all life of the church member. There are clear distinctions between the denominational groups which transcend any class differences which exist within a denomination. There are however significant differences of class between the denominations and significant differences between communal and associations! members within the denominations.
 
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http://hdl.handle.net/1842/30763
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