Frames for Study

Developed over decades of research, our frames of study will help you see religious communities in new ways. Together, the five frames can help researchers, students, and leaders alike form a more comprehensive understanding of congregations.

Seeing ‘ecologically’ is looking for the place of a congregation in its physical, cultural, and demographic environment

Seeing ‘theologically’ is looking for the ways a congregation understands and enacts its relationship with God.

Seeing ‘culturally’ is thinking like an anthropologist about the congregation, its home, and its ways of life.

Seeing through a resources frame is looking for all the ingredients that make the congregation’s life and work possible.

Seeing through a process frame is looking for the dynamics of decisions, changes, conflicts, and leadership.