Ronald Lawson

From American Church to Immigrant Church: The Changing Face of Seventh-day Adventism in Metropolitan New York

In 1945 Seventh-day Adventism in Metropolitan New York was divided administratively into two conferences, one of which had an almost completely Caucasian membership the other AfroAmerican. Both groups grew substantially during the following twenty-five years, but this growth was accompanied by the beginning of a flow of immigrants who had become Adventists as a result of missionary activity in their homelands in the developing world. Since 1970, the influx of immigrants - and of conversions among their non-Adventist peers - has burgeoned, while American-born members, both black and white, have declined sharply in total number and precipitously as a proportion of the total. The data presented here show that in this region new immigrants now account for almost 90 percent of the Adventist membership. While the situation in New York is more extreme, it mirrors a transformation taking place among Adventists throughout North America. Without the flow of immigrants, North American Seventh-day Adventism would now be in a situation of numerical decline akin to that of many of the mainline Protestant denominations. This paper sets out to account for the demographic transformation of Adventism in Metropolitan New York - for the decline of the American segments (Caucasian and Afro-American) and the huge growth among the new immigrants. It argues, drawing on modernization theory, that a strict church with a rigid doctrinal system and behavioral code will decline among constituencies with growing sophistication if it does not accommodate to modern values, but may succeed in the short-term by attracting less modern people.

When Immigrants Take over: The Impact of Immigrant Growth on American Seventh-Day Adventism's Trajectory from Sect to Denomination

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in the United States has been following a well-defined trajectory from sect toward denomination for the past century: it has reduced tensions with its surrounding environment by removing antagonisms between itself and the state and other religious organizations and as its members have become less peculiar in their lifestyles and beliefs and more integrated into society. However, over the past 30 years it has received an influx of immigrants from countries of the developing world who, generally, are more sectarian in their beliefs and behavior and more confrontative of other religious groups than is the typical American Adventist today. This process is especially advanced in some metropolitan areas such as New York, where Adventism has been transformed from a church of Caucasians and African Americans to a body where nine out of 10 members are now new immigrants. This paper poses the question of whether the influx of immigrants will reverse the trajectory of Adventism in North America, making it generally more sectarian. After considering data gathered primarily in metropolitan New York, it concludes that the flow of immigrants has resulted in a temporary slowing of the movement from sect toward denomination at the local level where the immigrants are concentrated, but that the process of immigrant assimilation ensures that the dominant trajectory will continue.

Broadening the Boundaries of Church-Sect Theory: Insights from the Evolution of the Nonschismatic Mission Churches of Seventh-Day Adventism

This article extends the theory of sect development by showing, through comparative analysis, that the development trajectories of foreign mission churches controlled from a national home base are influenced by the trajectories followed by their home religious bodies. It also suggests that the trajectories of mission churches not controlled by home religious bodies are far more responsive to differing local circumstances. In applying church-sect theory, which has typically focused on schismatic groups within a single society, to national branches of international religious bodies imported as a result of missionary activity or migration, the paper demonstrates that the dynamics can be similar in key ways, In doing this, it builds on Bryan Wilsons employment of church-sect theory in his study of nonschismatic new religious movements in developing countries. The data show that the dynamics in the 204 countries where Seventh-day Adventism has been imported are akin to those in the United States, where its origin was schismatic. That is, even though we would expect that Adventism in most of these countries would be highly sectarian since the members there are mostly first-generation converts, this is not so: the churches there, like the American church, are moving from sect toward denomination. However, when Adventists are compared with Jehovahs Winesses and Pentecostals, both of which are also expanding rapidly in developing countries, it is found that the trajectories taken by all three differ considerably. The strength of ties to a global organization proves to be highly significant in accounting for the directions taken. Since the patterns that emerge in the mission churches of hierarchical, centralized groups tend to parallel those set originally in their home bases, the analysis allows the prediction of the global profiles which such groups will develop.

Origins and Evolution of a Social Movement Strategy The Rent Strike in New York City, 1904-1980

To what extent, and how, do social movement strategies change over time? Why are particular strategic options selected by social movement organizations? A wide range of theories bearing on these questions are used to analyze the birth and evolution of the rent strike as used within the tenant movement in New York City. The emergence and diffusion of six key groups of innovations over a 76-year period are examined. The analysis considers the origins of the strategy, the extent of change in it over time, how and why innovations occurred, and how and to what extent they were diffused through the multitude of organizations making up the movement. It also examines the extent, consistency of, and reasons for patterns in variations in the use of strategic forms among the constituent organizations of the movement, the impact of both housing and politics of the various innovations, and the ultimate institutionalization of the strategy.