
Religion and Community in the New Urban America
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 7. May 2015
Book
Hardback
368 pages
978-0-19-938684-0 (ISBN)
Description
Religion and Community in the New Urban America examines the interrelated transformations of cities and urban congregations over the past several decades. The authors ask how the new metropolis affects local religious communities, and what the role of those local religious communities is in creating the new metropolis. Through an in-depth study of fifteen Chicago congregations--Catholic parishes, Protestant churches, Jewish synagogues, Muslim mosques, and a Hindu temple, city and suburban, neighborhood-based and commuter--this book describes the lives of their members and measures the influences of those congregations on urban environments. Paul D. Numrich and Elfriede Wedam challenge the view held by many urban studies scholars that religion plays a small role--if any--in shaping postindustrial cities and that religious communities merely adapt to urban structures in a passive fashion. Taking into account the spatial distribution of constituents, internal traits, and external actions, each congregation's urban impact is plotted on a continuum of weak, to moderate, to strong, thus providing a nuanced understanding of the significance of religion in the contemporary urban context. Providing a thoughtful analysis that includes several original maps illustrating such things as membership distribution for each congregation, the authors offer an insightful look into urban community life today, from congregations to the social-geographic places in which they are embedded.
Reviews / Votes
The detailed congregational studies in this book help chart the way to a broader sense of the many ways religion builds community in contemporary urban America. A persistent theme is how the details of each congregation's life - its location, mission, and nature - shape its urban impact ... This book is a helpful companion for all those studying religion in the contemporary city. * David R. Bains, Reading Religion * Chicago has always been the epicenter for urban sociology, and now Numrich and Wedam have put religion definitively in the picture. Conceptually adept and ethnographically rich, this book shows us how congregations are shaped by the spaces in which they are located, and how they in turn shape this constantly evolving city. * Nancy T. Ammerman, Professor of Sociology of Religion, Boston University * On a whole, this book is thorough, interesting and quite useful for those of us interested in urban religion and its continued importance in urban development. * Joshua D. Ambrosius, Urban Studies *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
24 maps
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
716 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-938684-0 (9780199386840)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Paul D. Numrich | Elfriede Wedam
Religion and Community in the New Urban America
E-Book
04/2015
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€18.99
Available for download

Paul D. Numrich | Elfriede Wedam
Religion and Community in the New Urban America
E-Book
03/2015
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€18.99
Available for download
Persons
Paul D. Numrich is a professor at Methodist Theological School in Ohio and Trinity Lutheran Seminary and an affiliate research associate professor at Loyola University Chicago. He researches the social, civic, and theological implications of America's increasing religious diversity.
Elfriede Wedam teaches sociology of religion and urban and community sociology at Loyola University Chicago. She has also written on the moral culture of the prolife movement and Catholic parishes in an international context.
Elfriede Wedam teaches sociology of religion and urban and community sociology at Loyola University Chicago. She has also written on the moral culture of the prolife movement and Catholic parishes in an international context.
Author
ProfessorProfessor, Methodist Theological School in Ohio and Trinity Lutheran Seminary
Research AssociateResearch Associate, Loyola University Chicago
Content
Foreword by Martin D. Stringer ; Preface and Acknowledgements ; Introduction: The New Urban Era and the Religion Factor ; Part I: Theoretical and Conceptual Framework ; Chapter 1: Adding Religion to Chicago's Story ; Chapter 2: Community and Congregations in the New Metropolis ; Part II: Congregational Case Studies ; Chapter 3: Neighborhood Parishes and Churches in a Restructuring City ; Chapter 4: Area Mosques and Diverse Corridors ; Chapter 5: Area Congregations in the City ; Chapter 6: Area Congregations in a Suburban Boom Town ; Chapter 7: Metro Congregations: A Wider View of the Restructuring Metropolis ; Part III: Religion's Urban Significance: Chicago and Beyond ; Chapter 8: Congregations and Change: Interpreting Religion's Significance in the New Metropolis ; Afterword: A Case for Representativeness ; Appendix A: Research Methods ; Appendix B: Questionnaire ; Appendix C: Field Notes on Worship Services ; Appendix D: Protocol for In-Depth Study of Religious Congregations ; Bibliography ; Index