Irreligion, A-Religion, and the Rise of the Religion-Less Church: Two Case Studies in Organizational Convergence
Responding to the overall decline in institutionalized American religion, this paper investigates a probable, and predicted, surge of organized irreligion. However, historical and observational data regarding two such irreligious groups, the Society for Ethical Culture and the American Rationalist F...
| Published in: | Sociological analysis |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
1969
|
| In: |
Sociological analysis
Year: 1969, Volume: 30, Issue: 4, Pages: 191-203 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Responding to the overall decline in institutionalized American religion, this paper investigates a probable, and predicted, surge of organized irreligion. However, historical and observational data regarding two such irreligious groups, the Society for Ethical Culture and the American Rationalist Federation, reveal instead a similar, even more serious disintegration among them than that which the churches are experiencing. Findings indicate a possible convergence underway between the organizational manifestations of both religion and irreligion. Furthermore, this convergence seems to entail the growth of the “religion-less church,” an unanticipated phenomenon which introduces a new religious spirit beyond the boundaries of formerly organized religious and irreligious groups. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2325-7873 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociological analysis
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3710509 |