The Dilemma of an Activist Church: Protestant Religion in the Sixties and Seventies
The dilemma which the political unrest of the sixties caused for organized religion is set forth and some of the sources of activism and inactivism in the churches discussed. Data are presented from a 1968 survey of 1,580 Protestant clergymen at the parish level in California, showing that church le...
| Published in: | Journal for the scientific study of religion |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
[1974]
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| In: |
Journal for the scientific study of religion
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| Further subjects: | B
Protestant Ethics
B Clerics B Conservatism B Churches B Environmental Ethics B Social Ethics B Pastors B Liberalism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | The dilemma which the political unrest of the sixties caused for organized religion is set forth and some of the sources of activism and inactivism in the churches discussed. Data are presented from a 1968 survey of 1,580 Protestant clergymen at the parish level in California, showing that church leaders were highly polarized over a wide range of issues during this period and that many liberal ministers were active in the political controversies of the 1960s. Such "new breed" activists met with considerable resistance from their congregational members, however, and many lost members and finances. The reassessment and retrenchment presently taking place within liberal denominations are discussed in light of these findings--drawing, in part, upon recent interviews with church leaders in California. It is concluded that important changes are taking place at the national level--particularly in the loss of a large number of nonparish positions--but that the situation in local parishes is not a great deal different today than in the sixties. The dilemma over social activism within liberal churches is expected to continue in much the same form in the future. |
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| ISSN: | 1468-5906 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the scientific study of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/1384797 |