RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY IN A CONSERVATIVE BAPTIST CONGREGATION

One of the important goals of congregational research is to examine shared religious characteristics at the organizational level. Yet, data collection using key informants and limited questions concerning belief on congregational surveys can potentially mask significant religious diversity within congregations. Using detailed belief and attitude questions from an abridged version of the 2005 Baylor Religion Survey, we find noteworthy religious and theological variation among the most active adherents of a conservative Southern Baptist church in Central Texas. Unsurprisingly, congregants show broad agreement on belief in God and the importance of religious practices such as attending church and prayer; however, members of this tightly-knit group voice disagreement about their religious identity, conceptions of God, beliefs about heaven, and beliefs about the New Age. Our findings indicate the need for careful attention to these sources of diversity, which may prove consequential to the methods and theory of future congregational research.

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