Beyond strictness: Mainline protestant religious participation

Abstract

In an effort to move beyond strictness as an explanation, this article employs a most-similar case study of two congregations in order to explore the organizational features of mainline, liberal congregations that influence religious participation. Four key organizational features emerged through field research and subsequent analysis: the use of staff versus committees, provision of distinctively religious goods and services, evangelism, and the intentional creation of community. These findings are considered both for what they add to the understanding of religious participation in Mainline Protestant congregations, as well as a possible way forward to applying theoretical understandings of solutions collective action problems in a congregational setting without focusing on strictness.