"Everything that I've Done Has Always Been Multiethnic": Biographical Work among Leaders of Multiracial Churches
Biographical work is the process of shaping a cohesive life story by selectively giving meaning to past events. The resulting biographies are not simple recitations of life events but narratives that illuminate what is valued in a person's social context and how the person makes sense of life e...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford Univ. Press
[2019]
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| In: |
Sociology of religion
Year: 2019, Volume: 80, Issue: 4, Pages: 478-495 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Religious Leadership and Diversity Project
/ USA
/ Church congregation
/ Religious leader
/ Multi-cultural society
/ Biography research
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy CH Christianity and Society KBQ North America |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Biographical work is the process of shaping a cohesive life story by selectively giving meaning to past events. The resulting biographies are not simple recitations of life events but narratives that illuminate what is valued in a person's social context and how the person makes sense of life events and experiences over time. Drawing on 121 interviews from the Religious Leadership and Diversity Project (RLDP), this article investigates biographical work among head clergy of multiracial churches. I find that pastors of multiracial churches pattern their biographies after two predominant formula stories, laying claim to being people who are experienced with diversity and/or experienced with racial injustice. These formula stories reveal institutionalized understandings of biographies acceptable for pastors of multiracial churches that cut across denominational lines. The biographies of these leaders also reveal a shift toward diversity and away from recognition of racial injustice that has implications for the racial structure. |
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| ISSN: | 1759-8818 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociology of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/socrel/sry058 |