Thesis advisor: Stephen Pfohl / This thesis further explores the relationship between capitalism and Christianity by examining current changes to the style in which Evangelical Protestantism is practiced within the context of America's transition to consumer society. Using a theoretical framework of the marketplace theory of religious change and critical cultural studies, I argue that by displacing religion as the dominant mediator of ultimate meaning, the pressure consumer society places on religious content and practices to adapt may be part of a process of colonization through which the alignment between capitalism and Christianity is continued and its potential to be a critical cultural resource is reduced. To this end, I employ a mixed methodology of participant observation, unstructured interviews and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to examine the cultural content of Lakewood Church in Houston, TX, America's largest Protestant church. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

Esta tese tem por tema as relações entre protestantismo e modernidade no Brasil. O objetivo primordial é a compreensão das transformações nas relações entre o protestantismo e a modernidade no Brasil. Para alcançar o objetivo, utilizamos, no exame do tema, a sociologia compreensiva de matriz weberiana. A investigação sociológica, que reservou lugar de destaque para o protestantismo na emergência da modernidade ocidental, passou, de um lado, a interessar-se pela compreensão e explicação do declínio da religião protestante na sociedade moderna e, de outro, se as religiões pentecostais na América Latina mantinham ainda afinidades com o protestantismo e com a modernidade. O protestantismo valeu-se, para sua inserção no Brasil, a partir de meados do século XIX, de sua afinidade com a modernidade representada pelos Estados Unidos. Todavia, o significado da modernidade para o protestantismo foi sendo alterado ao longo do século XX. A primeira transformação nas relações entre protestantismo e modernidade no Brasil ocorreu quando a identificação com a herança moderna norte-americana passou do questionamento, nas primeiras décadas do século XX, à rejeição completa, na década de sessenta, por setores enraizados no liberalismo teológico. A segunda transformação nas relações do protestantismo com a modernidade no Brasil é encontrada na introdução da reflexividade no campo do conhecimento teológico. No esforço de apresentar-se como religião moderna, o protestantismo de inspiração liberal utilizou a reflexividade para reinterpretar a Bíblia à luz da cultura e da razão e para redefinir suas relações com o catolicismo romano. De tempos em tempos, ao longo do século XX, assistiram-se polarizações no interior do campo protestante brasileiro em torno de esforços de acomodação e de rejeição dos pressupostos cognitivos da modernidade, representados pela reflexividade. A sociologia do protestantismo brasileiro privilegiou a análise dos grupos protestantes, reunidos em torno da rejeição da reflexividade, usualmente denominados como fundamentalistas. Demonstramos que a atitude de acomodação aos pressupostos cognitivos da modernidade tem tido presença constante no protestantismo brasileiro, e a sua condição minoritária no campo religioso protestante não se explica apenas por meio da repressão sofrida por parte dos setores conservadores, mas levando-se em conta também a própria natureza das crenças liberais. A repressão conservadora oferece aos setores liberais a oportunidade para realização de rituais de ruptura, que, no caso do protestantismo, consistem basicamente nalguma transgressão no campo das idéias e das palavras. A particularidade do protestantismo reside na construção de sua identidade em relação íntima com a modernidade, seja de rejeição, seja de acomodação. / The theme of this thesis is the relations between Protestantism and modernity in Brazil. The primary goal is the understanding of the transformations in the relations between Protestantism and modernity in Brazil. In order to achieve the objective we used in the examination of the theme, the sociology of the comprehensive Weberian matrix. The sociological research that reserved a place of prominence for Protestantism in the emergence of a western modernity, has become, on one hand, interested in the understanding and explanation of the decline of Protestant religion in modern society and, on the other hand, if the Pentecostal religions in Latin America still maintained affinities with Protestantism and with modernity. Due to its affinity with the modernity represented by the United States, the Protestantism was inserted in Brazil in the mid-nineteenth century. However, the meaning of modernity for Protestantism changed over the twentieth century. The first transformation in the relations between Protestantism and modernity in Brazil occurred when the identification with the modern legacy of the North American, changed from questioning, in the first decades of the twentieth century, to the complete rejection in the sixties by the theological liberalism. The second transformation in the relations of Protestantism with modernity in Brazil was found in the introduction of reflexivity in the field of theological knowledge. In the effort to present as a modern religion, the Protestantism of a liberal inspiration used the reflexivity to reinterpret the Bible in the light of culture and reason and to redefine its relations with Roman Catholicism. From time to time, throughout the twentieth century, we saw a polarization within the Protestant Brazilian field around efforts of accommodation and rejection of cognitive assumptions of modernity, represented by the reflexivity. The sociology of the Brazilian Protestantism focused on the analysis of the Protestant groups gathered around the rejection of reflection, usually called fundamentalists. We demonstrate that the attitude of accommodation to the cognitive assumptions of modernity has constant presence in the Brazilian Protestantism and its minority condition in the Protestant religious field can not be explained only by means of repression suffered by the conservative sectors, but taking into account also the very nature of liberal beliefs. The conservative repression offers to the liberal sectors the opportunity to conduct rituals of disruption, which in the case of Protestantism, basically consists in some transgression in the field of ideas and words. The particularity of Protestantism lies in the construction of their identity in intimate relation with modernity, whether rejection or accommodation.

Debates concerning how churches in the developing world are best resourced in terms of their funding base and the implications of this for other aspects of church life have been conducted for over 150 years. The solutions offered have ranged from the Three-Self theory, with its advocacy of local self-support, to wholesale financial support from abroad, and in between a combination of those methods in a variety of configurations. This thesis focuses on the recent experiences of evangelical Christians in a southern Mozambican context, paying particular attention to three case studies: the Igreja Evangelica Arca da Salvação; the Ministério Centro de Louvor; and the Igreja Reformada em Moçambique. It asks why so many churches in Mozambique are seemingly locked into a dynamic of economic dependency on donors from abroad, but also why it is that in that shared and impoverished national context some churches are attempting, with some success, to resource their own activities. Using accounts and reflections obtained first-hand from Mozambican Christians, the thesis suggests that, alongside important factors such as the historical circumstances surrounding the emergence of each church group or denomination, the vision and agency of leaders in each local congregation are also fundamental to the resourcefulness of the members and the developmental trajectory of the church. In the context of self-governance, the role of such leadership is highlighted as crucial to the emergence of both self-funding and self-propagation. As well as contributing to the debate concerning the resourcing of churches in the developing world, this thesis addresses social theory that is concerned with how and why individuals invest their available resources in the religious communities of which they are part. It also contributes to the study of independent churches in southern Africa, concerning their potency for independent economic development. Finally, this thesis argues that, for the purposes of avoiding the cultivation of unhealthy dependency in national churches, international mission societies and para-church organizations in developed nations would do well to analyse the dynamics of which they are part. Where partnerships consist largely of sponsorship, it is argued, the risk of ongoing unhealthy dependency is high.

[pt] Com dados de localização das Igrejas na Cidade do Rio Janeiro e do Censo de 2000, o trabalho busca analisar o quanto da mudança no perfil religioso é resultado de competição ou de preferências. Através da análise do perfil dos fiéis e do padrão geográfico de localização tanto dos fiéis quanto das igrejas, é feita uma caracterização do mercado religioso. E, supondo que fiéis e igrejas são agentes maximizadores, estima-se um modelo estrutural que permita entender quais são os determinantes da entrada de igrejas evangélicas nos bairros da cidade do Rio de Janeiro. / [en] The paper seeks to examine if the growth of evangelicals in Brazil is the result of religious competition or preferences. In order to carry this analysis we gathered information of the location data of all the churches in the city of Rio de Janeiro and the 2000 Census. With this unique dataset, we determined the profile and the geographical pattern of location of the different religious groups. And, assuming that believers and churches are maximizing agents, we estimate a structural model that allows us to study the determinants of entry of evangelical churches in the neighborhoods of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Thesis (M.A.)-- Wheaton College Graduate School, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-99).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-154).

ABSTRACT PASTORAL LEADERSHIP PRACTICES IN EVANGELICAL MULTIETHNIC CONGREGATIONS: A MULTI-CASE STUDY Raúl Martin Latoni Ramírez, Ed.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2012 Chair: Dr. Hal K. Pettegrew The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the best leadership practices of pastors of selected evangelical multiethnic congregations in the United States. The study was qualitative in nature and can best be described as a multiple or collective case study with purposeful sampling. The sample consisted of 30 pastors, including 6 women and 24 men, from 6 multiethnic congregations. The churches were located in 6 different regions of the country: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Pacific Northwest, West, and Southwest. The denominations represented in these churches included Independent Charismatic, Vineyard, Assemblies of God, Baptist, and Independent. The researcher used a revised version of the Personal Best Questionnaire as the primary means for collecting data (Kouzes and Posner 1987). This was completed by all participants who, in addition, completed a demographic data form created by the researcher. In order to triangulate the data, the researcher also incorporated data from personal observations during visits to each of these churches and from interviews with the senior pastor at the 6 churches. The gatekeeper or designated person at each church was also asked to fill out a questionnaire to provide demographic data pertaining to the church. The responses provided by the participants in this study confirmed and correlated well with the five practices of exemplary leadership proposed by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner. The impetus for the participants' best practices came from personal conviction, perceived need, personal passion, leadership directive, and challenging the status quo. Over a third of the pastors responded to a perceived need, demonstrating that leaders do not always seek challenges; challenges seek leaders. Others initiated change in response to a perceived dissonance between personal or corporate values and current ministerial practices. Senior pastors were more likely than associate/assistant pastors to initiate change based on personal convictions. Other responses closely related to implementing change focused on pastors' behavior of developing and implementing a specific vision for their ministries. Senior pastors relied primarily on preaching and teaching to communicate their vision. Overall, respondents reported that the primary means to communicate vision and the need for change was by developing slogans and through the use of testimonies in various settings of the church. In order to build cohesiveness and promote trust in leadership, a majority of the participants reported the importance of building personal relationships with their church members. While senior pastors relied mostly on vision casting to foster collaboration in their respective ministries, associate pastors were more likely to foster collaboration through personal relationship development. Also, female pastors were twice as likely as their male counterparts to use personal words of affirmation to enhance the confidence of individuals in their abilities, thereby furthering their relationships with congregational members. One of the ways in which the participants fostered accountability was by modeling transparency, vulnerability, and honesty in communication. The researcher identified three primary spheres for modeling behavior among the participants: personal, organizational, and public. While associate pastors reported modeling behavior in one or two of these spheres, senior pastors demonstrated modeling behavior in all three spheres. KEYWORDS: Pastoral, leadership, multiethnic churches, evangelical, best leadership practices.

Over the past 150 years, Evangelicals have established a social infrastructure of organizations in Russia. Through an exploration of Evangelical engagement in Russia, this thesis asserts that evangelical salience will increase as other players in society -- namely, the federal government and Russian Orthodox Church -- continue to fail to address issues in society. This thesis traces evangelical presence in the region, first in the Russian Empire, then during the Soviet Union, and finally in today's Russian Federation. The concluding chapters dwell on a critical growth period for Evangelicals at the fall of the Soviet Union, during which the totalitarian communist regime was replaced with western political and economic systems, while few formal networks in the new Russian social sector emerged. In this social vacuum, Evangelicals filled and continue to fill a unique role with their well-developed organizational model that simultaneously addresses social and spiritual issues on an intimate level with the Russian people. Indeed, while the general population of Russia decreases, and the number of Russian Orthodox believers remains steady, Evangelical Russians are increasing annually. What is behind Evangelicals’ continued growth? With a focus on their non-religious functions in Russia, this thesis sets to find out.

Over the last ten years, a newly created ritual called a Purity Ball has become increasingly popular in American evangelical communities. In much of the present literature, Purity Balls are assumed solely to address a daughter’s emerging sexuality in a ritual designed to counteract evolving American norms on sexuality; however, the ritual may carry additional latent sociological functions. While experienced explicitly by the individual participants as a celebration of father/daughter relationships and a means to address evolutionary sexual mating strategies, Purity Balls may implicitly regenerate existing social hierarchy. This ritual facilitates a sociological purpose by means of re-establishing the role of the male through halting the psychological development of sexual identity in the daughter, and these rituals are enacted in the ownership of the daughter by the father, who is responsible for maintaining the daughter’s purity, for “covering her with his protection.”

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2001. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 271-274).