People Make the Place: Religious Leadership and the Identity of the Local Congregation

Abstract

The identity of a congregation is more dependent on the people who gather together than on any particular constellation of structures and strategies, programs, and policies. While social processes of attraction, selection and attrition are fundamental to identity development, a paradoxical consequence is that a strong identity is unavoidably linked to a degeneration of the congregation's vitality and to a reduction of its capacity for survival in a changing environment. The arrival of a new religious leader may help to halt the growing degeneration and incapacity by the minister becoming the center of a new cycle of attraction, selection, and attrition. However such a renewal in identity is always rife with conflict and therefore contrary to the idea of a religious congregation as a harmonious and peaceful assembly of believers.

Jewish Identity and Volunteerism: Motivational Drivers in a Small North Carolina Temple

“…Through an exploration of congregational communities and the dependence on people for programming, structure and strategies, (Nauta, 2007) purports that social processes are an intricate component of identity development and further contends that there is a balance that exists between religious identity and the decline of a congregation's vitality. Research has discovered that in recent years, a congregation's participation and involvement in religious institutions has been on the decline because the need to commit as a congregant is less important than in preceding decades (Nauta, 2007;Twenge et al, 2015). When religious identity declines, volunteerism declines as well.…”

Differences between Founder-Led and Non-Founder-Led Congregations: A Research Note

“…Religious leadership and authority have been longstanding concerns for scholars studying a range of congregational dynamics, including conflict (Becker 1999; Chou 2008), civic engagement (Schwadel 2005; Brown and Brown 2003), and congregational culture (Kim 2010; Nauta 2007; Ammerman 1997). New models of congregational structure and culture created by innovative congregational leaders have attracted the attention of religion scholars as well.…”

“I want to pray and I don’t want to pray”: expressive individualism and prayer

“…No. Religious communities today have a very strong orientation towards the individual (Nauta, 2007). In many communities experience and perception of the individual are dominant.…”