At their deepest level, human beings are social creatures, in the image, Christians would say, of the Trinity itself. But the individualistic bent of modern American society has led writers to focus more on the spiritual needs and growth of individuals than on the needs and growth of the religious groups to which these individuals…
Chapter 2 of Whitebread Protestants: Food and Religion in American Culture by Daniel Sack focuses on food as a central mode of community organizing within America’s churches. He argues that “Americans go to church for more than teaching and prayer. They go looking for community” (pp. 61-2). He argues that in our culture of competition, there…
In Gerardo Marti’s book, Worship Across the Racial Divide, he discusses the life and vitality of a multiethnic congregation. One of his early findings is that many members of the congregation, particularly those who are not Black, assume that “black worship” is a superior form of worship (p. 52). Marti writes, “Blacks singing gospel are…
A 2013 article in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Journal Sentinel explores the issue of gender in the pews. It outlines statistics that suggest that the average congregation is 60% female, and it’s even higher for Catholics, where 64% of members are female. There are a number of explanations for this gendered separation in the pews. One…