The Struggle for Integrity
Following World War II the Protestant churches in the United States experienced a dramatic period of growth and acceptance as their natural constituency moved in massive numbers to suburbia. The striking contrast between the "success" of the churches in the United States and the struggle f...
| Published in: | Review of religious research |
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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: |
Springer
1981
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| In: |
Review of religious research
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Following World War II the Protestant churches in the United States experienced a dramatic period of growth and acceptance as their natural constituency moved in massive numbers to suburbia. The striking contrast between the "success" of the churches in the United States and the struggle for survival in the old lands of Christendom raised inevitable questions about the religious authenticity and integrity of these flourishing suburban congregations. The weakness of inner city churches provided at the same time another perspective and underlined the need to ask what does it mean for a congregation to be faithful. This paper uses the evangelism studies of the World Council of Churches as a basis for examining critically the American church experience over the past 30 years. This is considered under the heading of the "Struggle for Renewal." The implications of this history are then spelled out for congregations, for laity, for clergy, and for seminaries. In the end the "Protestant Principle" requires continuing vigilance in the prophetic task of determining when old patterns have grown rigid or irrelevant and there is need for new wineskins. |
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| ISSN: | 2211-4866 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Review of religious research
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3511584 |