Dilemmas of Accommodation: Diversity and Congregational Involvement in Politics

• In Event: Religion and Social Conflict

Abstract

By organizing voter registration drives, collecting donations, and facilitating political discussion, churches can play multiple roles in the functioning of democracy. Why do some churches facilitate deliberation and political action while others do not? What are the political consequences? This article links this variation to the distinction between specialist churches that focus on specific ethnic, cultural, or territorial populations, and diverse churches that serve a range of populations. I suggest that specialist churches develop understandings of “how we do things here” (or “styles”) that facilitate deliberation and action, while diverse churches develop styles that constrain these involvements. These outcomes are troubling because they suggest that churches that could facilitate deliberation and action across difference are likely to lose sight of this potential. I build these arguments inductively with data from ethnographic and interview-based fieldwork in the United States. Methodologically, I seek to demonstrate the synergies between positivist and interpretive methodologies.

Author

• Jasmine Hope English, Massachusetts Institute of Technology