Lower Denominational Control: Effects of Changing Church Forms

Authority & Power, Conservative & Evangelical Churches, Denominations, Mainline & Liberal Protestant Churches, Megachurches, Process Frame, Surveys

Mark Chaves’ 2011 book, American Religion: Contemporary Trends, outlines a number of ways in which denominations have less and less control over individual congregations: 1 in 5 religious congregations in the United States are now unaffiliated (Chaves 2011). Moreover, 1 in 5 people who attend church attend congregations that are unaffiliated. This is a change…