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We analyze the effect of state visits by the Catholic pope on human rights in the host country to understand how a small theocracy like the Vatican can exert disproportionate political influence in international politics. Our theory of the strategic interaction between the Catholic Church and host governments describes how the pope's use of conditional approval and criticism incentivizes governments to refrain from human rights violations. Drawing on a new dataset of papal state visits outside Italy and a novel identification strategy, we test for the first time whether governments react in anticipation of a papal visit by improving their human rights protection. Our empirical analysis offers robust evidence for this causal effect, which is supported by qualitative evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Richard Hooker is said to have invented Anglicanism in his Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, giving character to an Elizabethan “settlement” of religion sadly lacking it. The Laws is a model of creative response to deeply alarming civil and religious circumstances. It is the major prose work of the English sixteenth century and is important in other ways. Hooker’s distinctive sense of law and rich sense of reason are explored here as major elements in his work. The aim is to suggest the enduring interest of the Laws as a whole by pursuing two of its important themes. Of particular current interest is the framework Hooker offers for understanding the sometimes violent entanglements of religion and politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diverse possibilities for using Group Spiritual Direction, as taught by Rose Mary Dougherty at Shalem Institute, illustrate ways in which advanced spiritual practices can be introduced to spiritual seekers at many different levels. Group Spiritual Direction can be a core growth process for spiritual directors, clergy, and seekers of deep spiritual community. However, in somewhat modified format, this gem of a spiritual process can offer depth community to church groups, enhance retreats, connect leadership groups in community, provide a depth-formation process for mentor groups, and even be used in family settings with young and old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the passing of the resolution seeking to protect the sacred sites of indigenous peoples by the Episcopal Church in 2012. The article discusses the lack of impact on the Episcopalian society on the passing of the 2012 resolution and the Doctrine of Discovery in 2009 due to the lack of their awareness.

In this study we examine how the process of relocation affects the mental health of United Methodist clergy and the extent to which relocation is associated with changes in clergy perception of the workplace environment and feelings of self-efficacy. We analyzed data from a longitudinal survey of 1375 clergy, one quarter of whom experienced a move between the baseline survey in 2008 and the follow-up survey 2 years later. Contrary to expectations, we find that mental distress decreased for those who recently moved compared to those who had moved 2 years prior. We also find strong evidence of a 'honeymoon effect.' Recently relocated clergy report higher levels of self-efficacy and higher workplace morale compared to those who do not relocate. This study underscores the importance of examining the short and longer-term impact of moving on mental distress and presses scholars to consider the ways in which, under certain circumstances, relocation may improve mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the practice and theology of authority in the Anglican Communion, based on meetings of the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates. Emphasis is given to topics such as moral authority in Anglicanism, the exercising of authority among networks of people, and the power of church leaders to make binding decisions and agreements.

A way past the "liturgy wars" opens up if we view contemporary liturgy from the perspective of Catholic social teaching. Freedom o f conscience and worship requires toleration of diverse theories of liturgy. Respect for the dignity of the human person foregrounds Vatican II's fundamental teaching that active participation is the primary and indispensable source of the true Christian spirit. The right to culture signals the importance of culturally in formed liturgical formation . In this way the "liturgy wars" can be reinterpreted as illustrating Congar's dialectical understanding of ecclesiastical tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the one communion of all local churches, regional structures of authority are essential if the church is to live out its mission in each sociopolitical context. The article explores how structures of regional and universal authority interact in Catholic and Orthodox contexts, looking at the ministry of unity exercised in the late 1970s by Archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador and at Orthodoxy's ongoing efforts to bring multiple ethnic jurisdictions in to administrative unity in North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article religion is viewed as a collectively produced good. Religious groups must, therefore, overcome collective action problems, namely, coordination. This problem is usually alleviated by entering into an agency relationship with an organizer whose job is to ensure efficient production of religious goods. This will lead to an increase in participation from congregants and an increase in quality of the religious goods. However, this relationship is open to the principal–agent problem. Using data from the American Congregational Giving Study this paper finds that the organizational structure of religious groups makes some groups more susceptible to principal–agent problems, which ultimately impacts participation levels. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper discusses various apostolic principles of indigenization located within the missiological writings of Roland Allen. It argues for a relevant application of these first principles within global Christian mission today. Attention will be given to aspects of ‘The Ministry of Expansion: the Priesthood of the Laity’, an unpublished work by Allen who in his day challenged certain western missionary methods which he believed were not apostolic in origin. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Surveying key informants is a common methodology in congregational research. While practical and cost-effective, there are limitations in the ability of a single informant to speak for an entire organization. This paper explores potential limitations empirically. Using the 1993 American Congregational Giving Study, we compare demographic descriptions provided by pastors to demographic information taken from random samples of members in the same congregations. Significant differences in congregational profiles appear along dimensions of gender, age, race/ethnicity and, most notably, education and income. The amount of discrepancy between pastor and member profiles varies by congregational factors such as denominational affiliation and employment status of pastor. We construct diversity measures using both pastor descriptions and surveys from samples of congregation members to demonstrate the impact of data type on conclusions drawn from empirical research. Difficulties notwithstanding, key informant methodology has a place in congregational research with appropriate precautions. Of course, the most complete view of congregations is one that combines perceptions from the pulpit with information directly from the pews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate about the relationship between religion and economic activity in the wake of Weber has been cast largely in terms of belief and values. This article suggests an alternative focus on practice. It argues that taken for granted practices of church governance formed to-hand resources for the organization of economic activity. The argument is developed through an examination of the historical development of church governance practices in the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, with particular emphasis on the way in which theological belief gave rise to practices of accountability and record keeping. In turn such practices contributed to a ‘culture of organization’ which had implications for economic activity. A focus on governance practices can help to illuminate enduring patterns of difference in the organization of economic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2001, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the United States participated with about 50 other faith groups in the U.S. Congregational Life Study (USCLS). Nearly 5600 Adventist church attenders in 94 congregations filled out a 56-item questionnaire about their faith and involvement in the life of the congregation. USCLS identified 10 strengths that put congregations "beyond the ordinary." They are (1) Growing spiritually, (2) Meaningful worship, (3) Participating in the congregation, (4) having a sense of belonging, (5) Caring for children and youth, (6) Focusing on the community,(7) Sharing faith, (8) Welcoming new people, (9) Empowering leadership,and (10) Looking to the future. For each strength, one or more questions were chosen from the survey. Then the percentage of those who responded in a specified way to a particular question was calculated, and an index of that strength was constructed. The procedure used in the national USCLS study was replicated with the Adventist data and comparisons are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the spread of the contemporary worship style from an organizational perspective. Using self-administered questionnaires obtained from pastors of 108 Taiwanese Christian congregations in 1998, we find that the adoption of the contemporary worship style among Taiwanese congregations is more influenced by age, size, and network ties of congregations than by their nominal affiliations with denominations or their professed attitudes toward the charismatic movement. Greater size and participation in interdenominational networks make congregations more likely to adopt the contemporary worship style; older congregations and those with intradenominational networks are more likely to adhere to traditional worship styles. The results of this research highlight the impact of both organizations and organizational fields on the behavior of religious congregations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study of parish life coordinators (PLC) in the United States. The study identified a number of unique job titles for these ministers. The most common titles were Pastoral Administrator, Administrator, Parish Life Coordinator, and Pastoral Coordinator. These ministers, referred to in this report as PLCs, have most often been women religious, although the share of parishes entrusted to them has declined from 1993 to 2004. The number of parishes entrusted to deacons and other lay persons increased during this same period. A limited number of parishes were consistently entrusted to religious brothers. In 2004, deacons were entrusted with 26% of parishes and lay people were entrusted to the same percentage. Religious brothers were entrusted with a much smaller percentage. Females comprised six in ten PLCs. The Midwest had the largest number of PLC parishes, while the Northeast had the fewest. PLC Parishes are usually smaller than the average U.S. parish.

Points out that Anglicans are preoccupied with insoluble matters of ecclesiastical polity and that they would do better to focus on faith and being open to new ways of communion and partnerships in mission. Human sexuality debate and the clash of cultures; Discipleship; Apologetics

We discuss the widely recognized segmentation between church professionals and laity, and then use that segmentation framework to interpret survey data on potential solutions to Catholic priest shortages. In particular, we report that church professionals tend to envision building larger churches as a viable solution, while laity are much less inclined to think so. We theorize these findings in terms of how the Catholic Church has reproduced segmentation between professionals and laity in a Vatican II era marked by an ethos of church democratization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responds to the question whether Hebrews is anti-Semitic. Claims that the old covenant is superseded by the new covenant; Problem on the overdependence on the epistle's negative assessment of Israel's sacrificial cult.

This article presents information on research notes of youth ministry in the Archdiocese of Detroit. A total of 275 parishes administered the survey, which represents 91.4 percent of parishes in Archdiocese. Depending on the question asked, approximately 94,428 individuals responded. The high number of parishes who want programs for teens and young adults as important finding, because nationally catholic youth are less committed than other age groups to the institutional church. The present study urged that more youth ministry programs at the local parish level be created and that the youth ministry programs already in place be supported and enhanced. The level of emphasis that catholic parishes place on popular devotions such as the Rosary has not been the subject of much research. While the availability of Sunday Mass has received regular study at the local and national levels, other devotions are not reported as frequently. The office of Research and Planning for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia surveys every pastor annually to collect parish demographic data and information about worship, the sacraments, and other parish activities.

Discusses the foundational theological commitments of author Richard Hooker on church polity. Reflections on the will of God and account of created realism in terms of intrinsic purposes; Characteristic of the Renaissance and Reformation; Definition of law in the context of a teleological account of reality.

Asks how sacramental theology fits into Richard Hooker's systematic work `Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity.' Context and general structure of the Hooker's work; Law as organizing principle; Importance of the sacraments; Architectural position of the sacraments in Hooker's work.

The article presents an examination into the church leadership structure of Christianity in the first and second centuries, focusing on the existence and functions of different church supervisory offices. Topics addressed include an overview of the different supervisory structures seen throughout the New Testament, the distinctions between elders, bishops and deacons; and the regional differences in church governance.

Some evidence suggests that religiosity contributes to the subjective health of senior citizens, especially in the African American population. When facing potentially stressful problems, many African American seniors turn to the church and clergy for help. Consequently, we explore how their clergy respond to seniors' psychological problems, whether they seek advice from professionals, and what they typically do in dealing with a distressed senior. Data from a representative sample of pastors of African American congregations indicate that one-half of the clergy referred distressed seniors to mental health professionals, while among the remaining pastors about 25% provided counseling and prayers and another 25% felt that problems were not serious enough to require either counseling or professional referral. A discussion of these findings is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine different religious organizational cultures that exist subinstitutionally in two geographically contiguous Roman Catholic dioceses. They result in a very different cultural ethos, sense of religiosity, and sociocultural dynamics in the two dioceses. Using survey data, interviews, public and diocesan statistics, and historical demography, we document such differences at three levels: episcopal leadership styles, clergy roles and problems, and laity religious orientations. To summarize such differences we construct ideal types, speculate about causal order in the emergence of religious organizational cultures, and suggest several issues for policy and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from 177 Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Methodist congregations, we assessed determinants of per capita contributions. For Catholics, but not Protestants, giving was lower in larger parishes. Lay attitudes about parish leadership were unimportant as predictors. We used regressions to establish the predictors of Catholic and Protestant giving, then substituted Protestant values into the Catholic equation to answer "what if" Catholic economic and institutional factors were the same as Protestant. Smaller parish size would increase Catholic giving. Protestant attitudes about parish life would also increase it, but a bit less. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Survey data from active laity in Disciples of Christ, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Southern Baptist, United Church of Christ, and Methodist churches were examined. Giving to one's own congregation was found to be strongly influenced by income and the religiousness of one's spouse, while giving to other religious charities was more strongly influenced by personal religiousness, and overall charitable giving was related to education and income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. Catholic Church has been experiencing two recent trends: an increasing number of parishioners and a decreasing population of priests. This study directly considers three strategies, and indirectly considers a fourth, that have been proposed to deal with these twin trends. They are: obtain more priests from religious orders, expand the permanent diaconate, make greater use of priestless parishes, and redistribute existing priests. With the diocese as the unit of analysis, an empirical model is tested to examine the effect of each of the strategies on one measure - the number of sacraments performed. The results show that religious order priests are no more nor less effective than diocesan priests, but the use of both pennanent deacons and priestless parishes increases the diocesan provision of sacraments. These latter two are judged to be effective in dealing with the priest shortage. These results are also consistent with the argument that the priest shortage can be alleviated by a better distribution of priests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the results of in-depth interviews with 17 clergy from a rural midwestern community are examined with respect to abortion. Although there are few differences between clergy in the content of abortion attitudes, Evangelical clergy are considerably more likely to communicate a "pro-life" position to their congregations than are Mainline ministers. A survey of lay members of these congregations suggests that ministerial socialization on the abortion issue is quite effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of role conflict is explored with data gathered from a population of Catholic priests in the diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. Seven- teen potential sources of role conflict were investigated and levels of agreement on eight current issues within the Church were assessed. In each area it was found that younger priests were experiencing more severe role conflict. Likewise, the youngest men indicated that they perceived noticeable differences in expectations concerning their role performance from numerous others whom they served. Some role conflict appeared to be resolved by attaching greater significance to younger reference and significant others. The existence of role conflict among Catholic priests, especially the younger men, seems to be confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A census survey of Madison, Wisconsin, made by the author and associates in 1944, obtained data relative to church membership and church attendance from 24,489 individuals 18 years of age and over. The condensed data are presented in the table given the article. It will be noted that 7,343 out of 24,489 indicated no church membership, though 60% of the 7,343 or 4,402 stated they had a church or denominational preference. It is of interest to note that the ratio of members to persons with preferences only is about 4 to 1. Each church group may be thought of therefore as having a loose "outer fringe" of potential members and interested persons which for the average church constitute about one-fifth of the total. It is often claimed that certain economic and occupational classes do not belong to church in nearly the same proportions as do other classes. Thus it is frequently supposed that church membership is chiefly a middle-class phenomenon and that laboring, professional and "upper-class" people do not belong to churches in as large proportions as do the members of the middle-classes.

In 1930 there were 353,665 members of the Congregational and Presbyterian churches in New England. This was 11.16 per cent of the native white people of native parentage in New England in 1930. The average percentage for the nine geographic divisions of the U.S. was 4.47 per cent. The rate for New England was thus +6.69 percent above the average. This is called the rate-deviation for New England in 1930, and is the variable designated by cp in the regression equations, being the amount that the Congregational-Presbyterian church membership rate in each division deviates from the average of the nine divisions. At any given date the sum of these deviations is ideally zero, and actually is very close to zero. The variable designated by the symbol f in the equations is the deviation of the rate, which the non-native white people of native parentage constituted of the total population of each division at each period from the average rate for the nine geographic divisions of the U.S.

The study of religious group behavior has been largely neglected. This paper attempts to demonstrate how sociometry may be utilized to study informal group formations in the local church and how a knowledge of the informal structure can aid in understanding formal church structure. Members were classified sociometrically as clique members, marginals, and isolates; this distinction was supported by their attitude toward and frequency of attendance at Sunday church services. The formation of sociometric clusterings and of cliques within these clusterings was found to be based primarily upon the variables of sex, age, marital status, and length of church membership. For clique members, involvement in a particular sociometric clustering was related to variation in emphasis on different types of organizational gaols. A finding with significant implications was that, while formal church leaders seldom occupied central positions in the church's informal structure, their wives often performed an informal, integrating role. It is suggested that such role differentiation may be quite functional in certain forms of church polity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the homogeneity and heterogeneity of church members' beliefs at the denominational and congregational levels. Homogeneity is defined as the extent to which one pattern of belief tends to dominate all others. Heterogeneity is defined as the extent to which more than one pattern of belief exists within a group. Data were obtained from Baptist and Methodist members of two middle class and two working class congregations. The data indicated that heterogeneity prevailed in both denominations and in three of the four congregations. A discussion of these findings focuses on some of the functional implications of heterogeneity and the role of heterogeneity in some of the crises religious groups are facing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theoretical effort to discover the possible impact of significant others on the attitudes of Roman Catholic priests toward recent changes in Church tradition, authority, and liturgical practices illustrates how variables other than age might affect attitudes. Evidence suggests that the type of seminary training and the priest's occupational history have an influence on the attitudes tapped by a mailed questionnaire which included scales measuring Liturgical, Authority, and Tradition items. Responses, when controlled for age, vary for some items, but not for others. Responses for a third category of items are fragmented across age categories. Age therefore would assist in attitude prediction in some areas, but would be inadequate in others. Seminary training and priestly work experience merit further study as possible predictors of attitudes. A final section discusses the possibility of wider applicability of the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the transition of the religio-psychiatric movement from the phase of rapid growth to the phase of consoIidation. The present study concerns with ministers who advocate a pastorate guided by psychiatric-type procedures and goals and their colleagues who castigate them for their tendentiousness. It also concerns psychiatrists who recommend religious motifs for their therapeutic endeavors and their colleagues' opprobrious view of these suggestions. Ministers drawn to counseling psychology tend to be in social locations having two principal characteristics. Ministers in industrialized societies, especially in the upper socioeconomic strata of those societies, are most exposed to this cultural encounter and provide the lion's share of clerical recruits to the religio-psychiatric movement. These pastors seek to classify parishioners according to abstract problem categories and to apply instrumental techniques for healing.

The article discusses some aspects of the social structure of a Roman Catholic Church. To the sociologist, in many respects, the catholic church represents an attempt to create and maintain a community. A study was made in a Roman Catholic parish in Liverpool where the Catholics place great emphasis on the parish as a unit. Criticisms and grievances were presented as aspects of parish life which fell below the ideal which parishioners wished their parish to achieve, and at times clearly indicated acceptance of the parish as the recognized unit of Catholic life. The need for organized assistance seemed to be felt most in the newer areas of the parish. This may have been because the households in these sections consisted more often of nuclear family units who were distant from their kin in the other parts of the city. Throughout the entire structure of the Catholic Church in Liverpool great emphasis was placed on the parish unit by ecclesiastical authorities and it was presented at local level as the accepted unit of Catholic life. Churches, infant and secondary modern schools and other necessary buildings were the responsibility of individual parishes. Religious, social and recreational activities were generally organized on a parish basis.

Sociologists of religion have devoted considerable attention to studying the relationship between the social policy of the church and the prevailing values of the secular community towards the social, economic, and political institutions of a society. Church policy on social issues is seen almost invariably as an adaptation to or compromise with the dominant secular point of view. The church seldom acts to foster social change but rather functions to preserve the status quo. Such general conceptualizations invite attempts at documentation and refinement. In a modest way, this is the intention of the present paper. The major concern of the author is the relationship between what the church has adopted as its official policy on a number of social, economic, and political issues and the prevailing climate of opinion on these same issues among the membership of the church. At the same time, we are interested in examining the position of the clergy, particularly on those issues where there is conflict between official church policy and parishioner sentiment.

The article discusses papers published within the issue, including "The Unity of Salvation," by Christiaan Jacobs-Vandegeer and another by Will Cohen on regional structures of ecclesial authority.

The article focuses on the role of pastors in parish pastoral councils. The insistence of the Catholic Church that the pastor is the parish's teacher, sanctifier, and governor makes the pastor a manager. In that role the pastor needs to receive advice and to delegate. A primary consultative body for the pastor in Catholic parishes is the parish council. When the parish council was first introduced into the life of parish it had a wide variety of purposes. Although there was no unanimity about these purposes, parish councils were undoubtedly envisioned as a tool to help pastors manage parishes. Each year the pastors in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are surveyed on a variety of topics. This is a report of the pastors' responses on how they employ their pastoral councils. Pastors were asked to identify agenda items for the meetings of the parish pastoral councils in 2004. It suggests that the overall emphasis of parish pastoral councils in this archdiocese clearly focuses on pastoral planning in a variety of forms and on the education/formation of the parish council members.

This article presents information on the parish needs survey conducted and administered by the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute in Berkeley, California. The goal of this survey is to examine the major challenges and the needs in the daily lives of the parishes of various Eastern Orthodox Churches situated on the West coast. Questionnaires were sent to 252 Orthodox parishes in California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Nevada. These parishes belong to five major American Eastern Orthodox Churches: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, Orthodox Church in America, Antiochian Christian Archdiocese, Serbian Orthodox Church and Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Each parish has received four questionnaires, one each for the priest, parish council president, church choir director and Sunday school coordinator. Preliminary findings from the survey shows that, generally, parish priests have significantly higher educational level in comparison with the parish lay leadership. There were surprisingly small differences in the clergy's and the lay persons' answers to various questions.

This article reports that scholars have speculated that the de facto Congregationalism hypothesis applies to Catholics as well as to Protestants and recent immigrants. Considering that Catholic families choosing which parish they want to join is central to this hypothesis, analysts present data from 299,501 Catholic families in the Detroit Archdiocese regarding parish membership in relation to residence. Although there are 310 parishes in the Archdiocese, only 284 are included in these data because the remaining parishes are either national or mission parishes that do not have geographic boundaries. Data now needs to be collected on the question of why people choose to attend a parish outside of their designated geographical parish.

The article examines the future educational needs of suburban Parishes without catholic schools. All parishioner households at two adjacent suburban parishes were surveyed. The first parish, Holy Cross, has 2,428 registered households; the 40 year-old pastor is vocal in his support of establishing a school. The second parish, Blessed Sacrament, has 698 house- holds; the 76 year-old pastor is neutral about establishing a school. Neither parish is willing to establish a Catholic school at this time. Holy Cross parishioners did indicate a willingness to build an education building to be used for religious education classes but only 45% supported opening a parochial elementary school. Blessed Sacrament recently built a new education building for religious education classes. In spite of this advantage, only 29% of parishioners supported opening a school. It may be difficult to establish new Catholic schools, even in areas where existing Catholic schools have waiting lists. Households with the most disposable income are less likely to support a school.