Numrich, P: Religion and Community in the New Urban America

Through an in-depth study of fifteen Chicago congregations--Catholic parishes, Protestant churches, Jewish synagogues, Muslim mosques, and a Hindu temple, city and suburban, neighborhood-based and commuter--this book describes congregational life and measures the influences of those congregations on urban environments. Paul D. Numrich is a professor at Methodist Theological School in Ohio and Trinity Lutheran Seminary and an affiliate research associate professor at Loyola University Chicago. He researches the social, civic, and theological implications of America's increasing religious diversity.; Elfriede Wedam teaches sociology of religion and urban and community sociology at Loyola University Chicago. She has also written on the moral culture of the prolife movement and Catholic parishes in an international context. Foreword by Martin D. Stringer; Preface and Acknowledgements; Introduction: The New Urban Era and the Religion Factor; Part I: Theoretical and Conceptual Framework; Chapter 1: Adding Religion to Chicago's Story; Chapter 2: Community and Congregations in the New Metropolis; Part II: Congregational Case Studies; Chapter 3: Neighborhood Parishes and Churches in a Restructuring City; Chapter 4: Area Mosques and Diverse Corridors; Chapter 5: Area Congregations in the City; Chapter 6: Area Congregations in a Suburban Boom Town; Chapter 7: Metro Congregations: A Wider View of the Restructuring Metropolis; Part III: Religion's Urban Significance: Chicago and Beyond; Chapter 8: Congregations and Change: Interpreting Religion's Significance in the New Metropolis; Afterword: A Case for Representativeness; Appendix A: Research Methods; Appendix B: Questionnaire; Appendix C: Field Notes on Worship Services; Appendix D: Protocol for In-Depth Study of Religious Congregations; Bibliography; Index