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Religious Congregations as Community Hubs and Sources of Social Bonding

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Handbook of Community Movements and Local Organizations in the 21st Century

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research ((HSSR))

Abstract

This chapter views congregations as community organizations that enhance face-to-face supportive relationships for the people that belong to them. Using Tönnies’ continuum, we claim that in the United States congregations increase the Gemeinschaft form of social connectedness. As formal associations in the local ecology, congregations provide member support and benefits that exceed most other community organizations. We will demonstrate that congregations are common in all American communities, and that they serve as a major source of mutual support and bonding social capital for their members in addition to caring for outsiders.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

    Ram A. Cnaan & H. Daniel Heist

Authors
  1. Ram A. Cnaan
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  2. H. Daniel Heist
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Correspondence to Ram A. Cnaan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Ram A. Cnaan

  2. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, USA

    Carl Milofsky

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Cnaan, R.A., Daniel Heist, H. (2018). Religious Congregations as Community Hubs and Sources of Social Bonding. In: Cnaan, R., Milofsky, C. (eds) Handbook of Community Movements and Local Organizations in the 21st Century . Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77416-9_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77416-9_24

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-77415-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-77416-9

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