> > > > > >God as a drug: The rise of American megachurchesAugust 19th, 2012 in Other >Sciences / Social Sciences > > > >American megachurches use stagecraft, sensory pageantry, charismatic >leadership and an upbeat, unchallenging vision of Christianity to provide >their congregants with a powerful emotional religious experience, according to >research from the University of Washington. >"Membership in megachurches is one of the leading ways American Christians >worship these days, so, therefore, these churches should be understood," said >James Wellman, associate professor of American religion at the University of >Washington. "Our study shows that -- contrary to public opinion that tends to >pass off the megachurch movement as consumerist religion -- megachurches are >doing a pretty effective job for their members. In fact, megachurch members >speak eloquently of their spiritual growth." >Wellman and co-authors Katie E. Corcoran and Kate Stockly-Meyerdirk, >University of Washington graduate students in sociology and comparative >religion respectively, studied 2008 data provided by the Leadership Network on >12 nationally representative American megachurches. >Corcoran will present their paper, titled "'God is Like a Drug': Explaining >Interaction Ritual Chains in American Megachurches," at the 107th Annual >Meeting of the American Sociological Association. >Megachurches, or churches with 2,000 or more congregants, have grown in >number, size, and popularity in recent years, coming to virtually dominate the >American religious landscape. More than half of all American churchgoers now >attend the largest 10 percent of churches. >Megachurch services feature a come-as-you-are atmosphere, rock music, and what >Wellman calls a "multisensory mélange" of visuals and other elements to >stimulate the senses, as well as small-group participation and a shared focus >on the message from a charismatic pastor. >The researchers hypothesized that such rituals are successful in imparting >emotional energy in the megachurch setting -- "creating membership feelings >and symbols charged with emotional significance, and a heightened sense of >spirituality," they wrote. >As part of their study, Wellman, Corcoran, and Stockly-Meyerdirk analyzed 470 >interviews and about 16,000 surveys on megachurch members' emotional >experiences with their churches. Four themes emerged: salvation/spirituality, >acceptance/belonging, admiration for and guidance from the leader, and >morality and purpose through service. >The researchers found that feelings of joy felt in the services far exceed the >powerful but fleeting "conversion experiences" for which megachurches are >often stereotyped. >Many participants used the word "contagious" to describe the feeling of a >megachurch service where members arrive hungry for emotional experiences and >leave energized. One church member said, "(T)he Holy Spirit goes through the >crowd like a football team doing the wave. …Never seen it in any other church." >Wellman said, "That's what you see when you go into megachurches -- you see >smiling people; people who are dancing in the aisles, and, in one San Diego >megachurch, an interracial mix I've never seen anywhere in my time doing >research on American churches. We see this experience of unalloyed joy over >and over again in megachurches. That's why we say it's like a drug." >Wellman calls it a "good drug" because the message provides a conventional >moral standard, such as being a decent person, taking care of family, and >forgiving enemies and yourself. Megachurches also encourage their members, >such as by saying, "Things can get better, you can be happy," he added. >This comforting message also is a key to megachurches' success, Wellman said. >"How are you going to dominate the market? You give them a generic form of >Christianity that's upbeat, exciting, and uplifting." >The researchers also found that the large size of megachurch congregations is >a benefit rather than a drawback, as it results in resources for >state-of-the-art technology -- amplifying the emotional intensity of services >-- and the ability to hire more qualified church leadership. >Wellman said, "This isn't just same-old, same-old. This is not like >evangelical revivalism. It's a new, hybrid form of Christianity that's >mutating and separate from all the traditional institutions with which we >usually affiliate Christianity." >Megachurches, which rarely refer to heaven or hell, are worlds away from the >sober, judgmental puritan meetinghouses of long ago, Wellman said. >Wellman will continue studying the topic of the new American Christianity with >a book-length profile of Michigan-based pastor and author Rob Bell due out in >late fall, and a book in 2013 titled "High on God: How the Megachurch >Conquered America." >A grant from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion funded the >project. >Provided by American Sociological Association >"God as a drug: The rise of American megachurches." August 19th, >2012. http://phys.org/news/2012-08-god-drug-american-megachurches.html >Posted by >Robert Karl Stonjek > > >
