Semester
Spring
Date of Graduation
2010
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MA
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Sociology and Anthropology
Committee Chair
Corey Colyer
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine whether strict churches are more likely than others to experience growth and what role congregational activity might play in the relationship between strictness and growth. Using data from the Faith Communities Today (FACT) 2000 survey, I tested Dean Kelley's (1972) claim that strictness is an important factor in church growth and Laurence Iannaccone's (1992) assertion that strict churches grow because they reduce free-riding, or increase congregational activity. The results lend only limited support for the idea that strict churches are more likely than more lenient churches to experience growth and do not conclusively support the idea that congregational activity acts as a mediator between strictness and growth.
Recommended Citation
Flynn, Rebecca Ann, "Are strict churches really stronger? A study of strictness, congregational activity, and growth in American Protestant churches" (2010). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 4590.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/4590