Changes in the Mass: Institutions and Church Cultures

Authority & Power, Catholic Parishes, Congregational Change, Culture Frame, Ritual & Worship, Theology Frame

When the Vatican announced changes to the way individuals should express signs of peace during mass, an article from the Religious News Service reported: In an effort to insure a more sober ritual, the Vatican has urged bishops to clamp down on singing, moving around and other casual expressions of affection when the sign of…

Congregationalism in American Churches

Authority & Power, Commitment & Belonging, Denominations, Process Frame, United States & Canada

The focus of this site is the study of congregations, understood in the most basic sense as local religious assemblies. But concepts of “the congregation,” “congregational,” and “congregationalism” have both more precise and more contested meanings. As a form of “church polity,” congregationalism holds the local religious assembly to be the source of earthy ecclesiastical…