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View from the Pew: The Political Consequences of Church Organizational Structure |
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Abstract:
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Religious groups are not immune from those organizational problems that impact public or private organizations, such as free riding and a lack of financial and human resources. These organizational problems pose serious problems for church leaders seeking to increase the level of civic engagement within their congregations. We adopt an institutional approach to analyze whether religious organizations have the administrative capacity and resources to mobilize for political and social causes within their community. Specifically, we study whether churches that are organized to deliver social services are able to do so efficiently and responsibly because of their large volunteer base and because of their institutionalized, administrative resources. We examine member participation in church activities rather than focusing mainly on weekly attendance at services to further probe participation rates of congregants. Finally, we examine the relationship between membership size and free riding. According to Olson (1965), it is easier for small groups to monitor the behavior of their members in order to prevent shirking. However, we do not know at this point about how much shirking occurs in congregations across the country. Charles Trueheart (1996) writes in his report on the emergence of Protestant megachurches in the United States that “big congregations endow a church with critical mass, which makes possible sizable budgets and economic efficiencies (such as very low staffing ratios) and formidable volunteer pools, and thus the capacity to diversify almost infinitely in order to develop ‘new product lines’ that meet the congregation’s needs and involve members in unpaid service” (Trueheart 1996, 38). Consequently, there may be important differences in the type and level of political activity that can engage a large congregation compared to a small parish. Our findings are based on tentative survey data and information that we collected from congregations in the Phoenix-metropolitan area as part of our on-going investigation of the political consequences of church organizational structure. |
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church (178), congreg (99), polit (67), member (64), particip (61), organ (55), level (52), activ (52), free (50), ride (42), communiti (41), religi (41), 000 (38), 999 (38), program (36), structur (33), denomin (33), 01 (32), organiz (32), servic (31), attend (31), |
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Association:
Name: American Political Science Association
URL: http://www.apsanet.org
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MLA Citation:
| Chin, Michelle. and Warber, Adam. "View from the Pew: The Political Consequences of Church Organizational Structure" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Hilton Chicago and the Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL, Sep 02, 2004 <Not Available>. 2009-05-26 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p60629_index.html> |
APA Citation:
| Chin, M. and Warber, A. L. , 2004-09-02 "View from the Pew: The Political Consequences of Church Organizational Structure" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Hilton Chicago and the Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL Online <.PDF>. 2009-05-26 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p60629_index.html |
Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Religious groups are not immune from those organizational problems that impact public or private organizations, such as free riding and a lack of financial and human resources. These organizational problems pose serious problems for church leaders seeking to increase the level of civic engagement within their congregations. We adopt an institutional approach to analyze whether religious organizations have the administrative capacity and resources to mobilize for political and social causes within their community. Specifically, we study whether churches that are organized to deliver social services are able to do so efficiently and responsibly because of their large volunteer base and because of their institutionalized, administrative resources. We examine member participation in church activities rather than focusing mainly on weekly attendance at services to further probe participation rates of congregants. Finally, we examine the relationship between membership size and free riding. According to Olson (1965), it is easier for small groups to monitor the behavior of their members in order to prevent shirking. However, we do not know at this point about how much shirking occurs in congregations across the country. Charles Trueheart (1996) writes in his report on the emergence of Protestant megachurches in the United States that “big congregations endow a church with critical mass, which makes possible sizable budgets and economic efficiencies (such as very low staffing ratios) and formidable volunteer pools, and thus the capacity to diversify almost infinitely in order to develop ‘new product lines’ that meet the congregation’s needs and involve members in unpaid service” (Trueheart 1996, 38). Consequently, there may be important differences in the type and level of political activity that can engage a large congregation compared to a small parish. Our findings are based on tentative survey data and information that we collected from congregations in the Phoenix-metropolitan area as part of our on-going investigation of the political consequences of church organizational structure. |
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43 |
| Word count: |
10078 |
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| View From the Pew: The Political Consequences of Church Organizational Structure By Michelle L. Chin Assistant Professor Department of Political Science Arizona State University Box 873902 Tempe AZ 85287-3902 (480) 965-4197 michelle.chin@asu.edu Adam L. Warber Assistant Professor 232 Brackett Hall Department of Political Science Clemson University Clemson SC 29634-1354 (864) 656-1828 awarber@clemson.edu Prepared for delivery at the 2004 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association September 2 - September 5 2004. Copyright by the American Political Science Association. |
| your household's gross annual income? 01) $5 999 and below 06)$30 000-$34 999 11) $70 000-$79 999 02) $6 000- $11 999 07) $35 000-$39 999 12) $80 000-$89 999 03) $12 000-$19 999 08) $40 000-$49 999 13) $90 000-$99 999 04) $20 000-$24 999 09) $50 000-$59 999 14) $100 000-$124 999 05) $25 000-$29 999 10) $60 000-$69 999 15) $125 000 and above We appreciate your efforts to complete this questionnaire. Please return the questionnaire |
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