IST2006-1HY-WI16 - Congregations

Instructor: Antony Alumkal

Office Phone: 303-765-3131

Email: aalumkal@iliff.edu

Click below for the syllabus in Word file:

AlumkalIST2006CongregationsHybridWinter2016.doc

Contacting Me

Email (not Canvas) is usually the best way to contact me during the week. If you have lengthy issues to discuss, we can set up a time for a phone conversation. If you will be in Denver, it is also possible to arrange for a face-to-face meeting.

Course Synopsis

An introduction to the social scientific literature on congre­gations. Students will learn basic methodology for analyzing congregations and their surrounding communities. A review of the empirical literature on congregations will cover issue such as congregational cultures, leadership styles, adaptation to community change, racial/ethnic diversity, fund-raising, and membership growth and decline.

Course Readings

1. The following books are required texts for the course.

Ammerman, Nancy. 1997. Congregation and Community. Rutgers, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

Ammerman, Nancy, Jackson Carroll, Carl Dudley, and William McKinney. 1998. Studying Congregations: A New Handbook.  Nashville: Abingdon Press.

Becker, Penny Edgell. 1999. Congregations in Conflict: Cultural Models of Local Religious Life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Christopher, J. Clif. 2008. Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate: A New Vision for Financial Stewardship. Nashville: Abingdon Press.

Wellman, James K. 2008. Evangelical vs. Liberal: The Clash of Christian Cultures in the Pacific Northwest. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

2. The following readings are available as pdfs on the Canvas site:

Floyd-Thomas et al. 2007. Black Church Studies: An Introduction. Nashville: Abingdon Press. Chapter 7.

Kim, Sharon. 2010. “Shifting Boundaries within Second-Generation Korean American Churches.” Sociology of Religion 71:98-122.

Marti, Gerardo. 2012. “The Diversity-Affirming Latino: Ethnic Options and the Ethnic Transcendent Expression of American Latino Religious Identity.” Pp. 25-45 in Sustaining Faith Tradition: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion among the Latino and Asian American Second Generation. New York: New York University Press.

Marti, Gerardo and Gladys Ganiel. 2014. The Deconstructed Church: Understanding Emerging Christianity. New York: Oxford University Press. Introduction.

3. The following readings are available for free download.

Bird, Warren and Scott Thumma. 2011. A New Decade of Megachurches.

http://hirr.hartsem.edu/megachurch/megachurches_research.html

Hadaway, C. Kirk. 2011. FACTs on Growth 2010. Hartford: Hartford Institute for Religious Research.

http://faithcommunitiestoday.org/facts-growth-2010

Mamiya, Larry. 2006. River of Struggle, River of Freedom: Trends among Black Churches and Black Pastoral Leadership. Durham, NC: Duke Divinity School.

http://pulpitandpew.org/pulpit-pew-research-reports

Roozen, David A. 2011. A Decade of Change in American Congregations 2000-2010. Hartford: Hartford Institute for Religious Research. Hartford: Hartford Institute for Religious Research.

http://faithcommunitiestoday.org/decade-change

Royle, Marjorie H. 2012. FACTs on Worship: 2010. Hartford: Hartford Institute for Religious Research.

http://faithcommunitiestoday.org/report-facts-on-worship

Thumma, Scott. 2012. Virtually Religious: Technology and Internet Use in American Congregations. Hartford: Hartford Institute for Religious Research.

http://faithcommunitiestoday.org/report-congregations-and-their-use-internet-technologies

Thumma, Scott and Warren Bird. 2009. Not Who You Think They Are: The Real Story of People Who Attend America’s Megachurches. Hartford: Hartford Institute for Religious Research.

(Note that the title on the webpage does not quite match the title in the pdf document.)

http://hirr.hartsem.edu/megachurch/megachurches_research.html

 Course Objectives

The course aims to introduce students to the following:

1. Variations in congregational cultures.
2. Basic methodology for conducting an analysis of a congregation.
3. How congregations are affected by denominational and other institutional contexts.
4. How congregations reflect racial, ethnic, and theological traditions.
5. The relationships between congregations and their communities.
6. The challenges financial issues pose to congregational leaders.
7. Being critical consumers of social scientific research on religion.

 Assignments

1. The first type of assignment in the course will be regular postings on Canvas. These will be twice a week (with the exception of the final week of the course and around Gathering Days, plus a few breaks) with deadlines on Mondays and Thursdays at midnight Denver time. The class will be split up into smaller posting forums to keep the conversations manageable. You will be expected at minimum to make two kinds of posts for each deadline day. First, you should make a substantive response to the assignment question. (The assignment questions will be posted in advance on Canvas). Second, you should make a substantive response to another person’s post from the previous posting day. (If it is Thursday, you should respond to a post from Monday. If it is Monday, you should respond to a post from the previous Thursday). The responses should involve more than simply saying “I agree” or “I disagree” by adding more analysis (e.g. discussing why the statement may be true), nuance (e.g. saying that you believe the statement is true in some cases but not in others), or application (e.g. here are some implications for pastors of congregations). Multiplying two (times a weeks) by two (types of posts) means a minimum of four posts a week. Feel free to post more times, but I am more concerned about the quality of posts than the quantity. One practical suggestion: it might be safer to compose your post in a Word file and then cut and paste it into Canvas so that you do not have to worry about losing it.

If you post at all required times and your posts are good quality, you can expect to get full credit (that mean an A). I will contact students individually after two weeks to give feedback on posts, and anytime I see areas of concern (e.g. someone’s posts are too brief). Feel free to contact me if you are ever unsure.

2. Students are required to attend the two Gathering Days sessions: February 3, 1-5 pm and February 4, 8 am-Noon.

3. Each student must choose a congregation to study and write up a pilot research report. If you are working at a congregation, you are free to study that one if you wish. The due date is noon (Denver time) on March 10, submitted on Canvas. It should be 15-20 pages (double-spaced) and include the following:

• Brief history of the congregation.
• Demographics of the immediate location.
• Profile of the leader(s) and an analysis of their style(s) of leadership.
• Profile of the membership.
• Denominational and other relevant networks.
• Current goals and challenges for the leaders and for the congregation as a whole.
• A list of 3-4 research questions that you would investigate if you had time and money for a lengthier study. Discuss why these questions are important and how they can be answered. You should include an interview protocol (questionnaire and description of whom you would interview) if answering the research questions will involve interviews.

The research for this report will likely involve some combination of observing services and other meetings and interviewing congregation members and clergy. Since this is a short-term project, it is okay for your findings to be tentative and for you to discuss what you suspect might be true in the congregation. Just be sure to discuss what observations lead you to your speculations.

Students often draw from official church histories. It is best to paraphrase and use select quotation where helpful. In other words, do not cut and paste several pages of text!

As with all Iliff papers, be sure to use proper citation for sources and quotations. I do not specify which citation style you need to use, so use whichever one you prefer. (Hint: Go to http://www.oxfordjournals.org/our_journals/socrel/for_authors/instructions.html to see the citation method commonly used by sociologists. This is one of the easiest methods.)

Forum Conduct

The course should involve a free exchange of ideas, which means you are welcome to express your viewpoint and to disagree with the viewpoints of the instructor or your fellow students. This should always be done in a way that shows respect for the other people involved in the course. Refer to the Iliff Community Covenant for more details. Also, remember to adhere to Iliff’s inclusive language policy.

Grading:

Forum Posts: 30%

Gathering Days Participation: 20%

Research Project: 50%

My working assumption is that students in a masters program can be expected to produce above average academic work. Therefore, the modal grade I assign is B+. An assignment will earn a B+ if it 1) fulfills all of the requirements and 2) demonstrates that the student has a solid (though not necessarily flawless) understanding of the con­cepts in the course readings and lectures. An assignment will earn a grade higher than a B+ if it fulfills the assignment and demonstrates exceptional insight into the course concepts. An assignment will earn a grade of B or B- if there are minor to moderate shortcomings in either fulfilling the assignment or demonstrating understanding of course concepts. Grades below B- are reserved for assignments with major shortcomings in either area.

This course may be taken pass/fail, but you must request this (by email) during the first two weeks. You do not need to provide a reason for your request.

Degree Learning Goals: Please take some time to look over the Professional Degree Learning Goals (MDiv, MASC, MAPSC) and the Academic Degree Learning Goals (MTS, MA).

Incompletes:  If incompletes are allowed in this course, see the Master's Student Handbook for Policies and Procedures.

Pass/Fail:  Masters students wishing to take the class pass/fail should discuss this with the instructor by the second class session.

Academic Integrity and Community Covenant:  All students are expected to abide by Iliff’s statement on Academic Integrity, as published in the Masters Student Handbook, or the Joint PhD Statement on Academic Honesty, as published in the Joint PhD Student Handbook, as appropriate.  All participants in this class are expected to be familiar with Iliff’s Community Covenant.

Accommodations:  Iliff engages in a collaborative effort with students with disabilities to reasonably accommodate student needs.   Students are encouraged to contact their assigned advisor to initiate the process of requesting accommodations.  The advising center can be contacted at advising@iliff.edu or by phone at 303-765-1146. 

Writing Lab:  Grammar and organization are important for all written assignments.  Additional help is available from the Iliff Writing Lab, which is available for students of any level who need help beginning an assignment, organizing thoughts, or reviewing a final draft. 

Inclusive Language:  It is expected that all course participants will use inclusive language in speaking and writing, and will use terms that do not create barriers to classroom community.