Year: 2007
Type: article
Abstract: The identity of a congregation is more dependent on the people who gather together than on any particular constellation of structures and strategies, programs, and policies. While social processes of attraction, selection and attrition are fundamental to identity development, a paradoxical consequence is that a strong identity is unavoidably linked to a degeneration of the congregation’s vitality and to a reduction of its capacity for survival in a changing environment. The arrival of a new religious leader may help to halt the growing degeneration and incapacity by the minister becoming the center of a new cycle of attraction, selection, and attrition. However such a renewal in identity is always rife with conflict and therefore contrary to the idea of a religious congregation as a harmonious and peaceful assembly of believers.
Source: Pastoral Psychology
Author: Rein Nauta
Institution: Tilburg University
Language: English
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,090
OpenAlex ID: W2025618902