Statistical Abstract of the United States
Author:
Publisher:
Published: 1997
Total Pages: 1048
ISBN-13:
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The Rational Southerner
Author: M. V. Hood III
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2014-05-05
Total Pages: 257
ISBN-13: 0199873836
DOWNLOAD EBOOKSince 1950, the South has undergone the most dramatic political transformation of any region in the United States. The once Solid-meaning Democratic-South is now overwhelmingly Republican, and long-disenfranchised African Americans vote at levels comparable to those of whites. In The Rational Southerner, M.V. Hood III, Quentin Kidd, and Irwin L. Morris argue that local strategic dynamics played a decisive and underappreciated role in both the development of the Southern Republican Party and the mobilization of the region's black electorate. Mobilized blacks who supported the Democratic Party made it increasingly difficult for conservative whites to maintain control of the Party's machinery. Also, as local Republican Party organizations became politically viable, the strategic opportunities that such a change provided made the GOP an increasingly attractive alternative for white conservatives. Blacks also found new opportunities within the Democratic Party as whites fled to the GOP, especially in the deep South, where large black populations had the potential to dominate state and local Democratic Parties. As a result, Republican Party viability also led to black mobilization. Using the theory of relative advantage, Hood, Kidd, and Morris provide a new perspective on party system transformation. Following a theoretically-informed description of recent partisan dynamics in the South, they demonstrate, with decades of state-level, sub-state, and individual-level data, that GOP organizational strength and black electoral mobilization were the primary determinants of political change in the region. The authors' finding that race was, and still is, the primary driver behind political change in the region stands in stark contrast to recent scholarship which points to in-migration, economic growth, or religious factors as the locus of transition. The Rational Southerner contributes not only to the study of Southern politics, but to our understanding of party system change, racial politics, and the role that state and local political dynamics play in the larger context of national politics and policymaking.
Rethinking the Church
Author: James Emery White
Publisher: Baker Books
Published: 2003-07-01
Total Pages: 192
ISBN-13: 1585580406
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWhy is it important to rethink the church? Today many leaders focus on how their ministries can be run more efficiently. But the foundational question, according to James Emery White, should be Why do we have this ministry? and then, Why do we do this ministry the way we do? Is it effective? Rethinking the Church helps pastors and lay leaders work through questions that must be answered if a church is to rethink evangelism, discipleship, ministry, worship, community, and the structure of the church. Break old molds, check assumptions, and be sensitive, says White. He uses the language and aims of "seeker-targeted" churches but urges readers not to tie themselves to any model without understanding the individual purpose of their church. Now thoroughly revised and expanded, Rethinking the Church contains more emphasis and key material on how to move from rethinking to transition. White blends biblical reflection and hands-on experience and uses the early church as described in the Book of Acts as the ultimate example.
Religion and Politics in the United States
Author: Kenneth D. Wald
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2010-08-16
Total Pages: 472
ISBN-13: 1442201533
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis sixth edition of Religion and Politics in the United States offers a comprehensive account of the role of religious ideas, institutions, and communities in American life. Through a detailed review of the political attitudes and behavior of major religious and minority faith traditions, the book establishes that religion continues to be a major part of the American cultural and political milieu while explaining that it must interact with many other factors to influence political outcomes in the United States. This edition reviews the role of religion in the 2008 election and includes coverage of how religion informs the civil rights struggles of women and gay Americans.
American Grace
Author: Robert D. Putnam
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2012-02-21
Total Pages: 720
ISBN-13: 1416566732
DOWNLOAD EBOOKBased on two new studies, "American Grace" examines the impact of religion on American life and explores how that impact has changed in the last half-century.
Handbook of Religion and Social Institutions
Author: Helen Rose Ebaugh
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Published: 2006-01-26
Total Pages: 460
ISBN-13: 9780387257037
DOWNLOAD EBOOKHandbook for Religion and Social Institutions is written for sociologists who study a variety of sub-disciplines and are interested in recent studies and theoretical approaches that relate religious variables to their particular area of interest. The handbook focuses on several major themes: - Social Institutions such as Politics, Economics, Education, Health and Social Welfare - Family and the Life Cycle - Inequality - Social Control - Culture - Religion as a Social Institution and in a Global Perspective This handbook will be of interest to social scientists including sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, and other researchers whose study brings them in contact with the study of religion and its impact on social institutions.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Author: U.S. Catholic Church
Publisher: Image
Published: 2012-11-28
Total Pages: 849
ISBN-13: 030795370X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKOver 3 million copies sold! Essential reading for Catholics of all walks of life. Here it is - the first new Catechism of the Catholic Church in more than 400 years, a complete summary of what Catholics around the world commonly believe. The Catechism draws on the Bible, the Mass, the Sacraments, Church tradition and teaching, and the lives of saints. It comes with a complete index, footnotes and cross-references for a fuller understanding of every subject. The word catechism means "instruction" - this book will serve as the standard for all future catechisms. Using the tradition of explaining what the Church believes (the Creed), what she celebrates (the Sacraments), what she lives (the Commandments), and what she prays (the Lord's Prayer), the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers challenges for believers and answers for all those interested in learning about the mystery of the Catholic faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a positive, coherent and contemporary map for our spiritual journey toward transformation.
Small Congregation, Big Potential
Author: Lyle E. Schaller
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Published: 2003
Total Pages: 237
ISBN-13: 0687036569
DOWNLOAD EBOOK"There are many questions that leaders of small-membership congregations as themselves about their church's future. Lyle Schaller suggests that two in particular should rise to the top of the list. What is the right size of a church and should these congregations make their plans on the basis of few resources and fewer options. If you are believe that believes that small-membership churches are distinctive places of Christian witness and service, then this book is for you.
The Eastern Church in the Spiritual Marketplace
Author: Amy Slagle
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 2011-09-01
Total Pages: 211
ISBN-13: 1609090284
DOWNLOAD EBOOKLike many Americans, the Eastern Orthodox converts in this study are participants in what scholars today refer to as the "spiritual marketplace" or quest culture of expanding religious diversity and individual choice-making that marks the post-World War II American religious landscape. In this highly readable ethnographic study, Slagle explores the ways in which converts, clerics, and lifelong church members use marketplace metaphors in describing and enacting their religious lives. Slagle conducted participant observation and formal semi-structured interviews in Orthodox churches in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Jackson, Mississippi. Known among Orthodox Christians as the "Holy Land" of North American Orthodoxy, Pittsburgh offers an important context for exploring the interplay of Orthodox Christianity with the mainstreams of American religious life. Slagle's second round of research in Jackson sheds light on the American Bible Belt where over the past thirty years the Orthodox Church in America has marshaled significant resources to build mission parishes. Relatively few ethnographic studies have examined Eastern Orthodox Christianity in the United States, and Slagle's book fills a significant gap. This lucidly written book is an ideal selection for courses in the sociology and anthropology of religion, contemporary Christianity, and religious change. Scholars of Orthodox Christianity, as well as clerical and lay people interested in Eastern Orthodoxy, will find this book to be of great appeal.
Divided by Faith
Author: Michael O. Emerson
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 2001
Total Pages: 228
ISBN-13: 9780195147070
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThrough a nationwide survey, the authors of this study conclude that US Evangelicals may actually be preserving the racial chasm, not through active racism, but because their theology hinders their ability to recognise systematic injustice.
