Tradition and change: negotiations of exclusivity and inclusivity within "The Community", a conservative Norwegian Christian Group
This case concerns conflicts related to the theology of baptism within the conservative Christian group called "The Community" (Menigheten Samfundet in Norwegian). The process culminated in the leadership’s decision in 2012 to maintain an exclusive theology of baptism. In this study, we th...
| Published in: | Nordic journal of religion and society (NJRS) |
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| Authors: | ; ; |
| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Universitetsforlaget
[2016]
|
| In: |
Nordic journal of religion and society (NJRS)
|
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Menigheten Samfundet
/ Baptism
/ Conflict
/ Conflict resolution
/ Tradition
/ Authority
|
| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AE Psychology of religion KBE Northern Europe; Scandinavia KDD Protestant Church KDG Free church NBP Sacramentology; sacraments |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This case concerns conflicts related to the theology of baptism within the conservative Christian group called "The Community" (Menigheten Samfundet in Norwegian). The process culminated in the leadership’s decision in 2012 to maintain an exclusive theology of baptism. In this study, we thematically analysed interviews with twenty-five members and ex-members; we used typologies of religion and authority and theoretical perspectives on organisational culture and transformation to investigate the case. We identified two main positions among our informants: the traditionalistic-theocratics emphasised everyday implications of membership together with fundamental theology, while the challenger-hermeneutics focussed more strongly on principle theological elaborations. Traditional authority, existing organisational culture, and criteria for exclusivity were challenged, during the process of which we identified it to have four phases: initial, negotiation, conflict and schismatic. Traditionalistic-theocratics “won” the case since the existing view of baptism was upheld; the implication of this was that The Community would continue as a religious sect. |
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| ISSN: | 0809-7291 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Nordic journal of religion and society (NJRS)
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.18261/issn.1890-7008-2016-01-04 |