Research Notes 1997-2001
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Research Notes by The Polis Center provided a forum for discussing scholarly issues as part of the Project on Religion and Urban Culture. This newsletter was intended for people with an interest in substantive issues about the role of religion in the urban culture of Indianapolis and other American cities.
This newsletter was published from February 1997 to April 2001. Each issue has a topical title.
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Item Age and Tenure Among Indianapolis Clergy(1998-04) Farnsley, Arthur E. IIThe average Indianapolis pastor is a 50-year-old male. Full-time ministry is usually his second career. He is currently at his fourth ministerial post. These are some of the raw facts that emerge from the initial scan of a database that now includes more than 500 clergy in the city. There is a suggestive similarity between the age of clergy and the age of parishioners. In short: mature adults are over-represented by half in the average congregation we studied. Clergy are older, on average, than other professionals such as teachers. These two facts together do not prove a correlation, but they certainly suggest one.Item An Analysis of Congregational Programs(2001-02) Quern, Susannah R.; Parks, Dawn L.How are congregations currently involved in providing social services? Does charitable choice make a difference? Our analysis describes the program activities of 400 congregations in 17 urban and suburban neighborhoods. While our census grouped programs into six categories, worship services into four categories, and events into seven categories, for purposes of analysis, we have collapsed these activities into two broader categories: religious programs and social outreach programs.Item The Changing Face of Indianapolis Religion(1997-05) Diamond, Etan; Farnsley, Arthur E. IIWe know from contemporary surveys of religious affiliation what the religious landscape of contemporary Indianapolis looks like. In the 1990s, Catholics are the single largest religious group, with Black Baptists and Methodists close behind. But how much does the modern lay of the land resemble Indianapolis of earlier decades, a city many of us still remember? How much has religion in our city changed?Item Ethno-Racial Diversity within Indianapolis Congregations(1999-08) Wedam, ElfriedeMore than forty years after the civil rights movement began to mobilize against racial segregation, religious congregations continue to reflect the segregation Americans experience in their voluntary associations in general. Diversity in public institutions does not translate easily into diversity within voluntary associations. Diversity in congregations is created by the combined effect of the congregation’s neighborhood context—its racial, ethnic, and class makeup—and the kinds of choices congregations make in response to the challenge of diversity. Most important is a conscious decision to be diverse. The stories of these congregations point to new ways of thinking about pluralism in voluntary associations generally. Roundtable discussion follows essay.Item Faith and Place: Religion and the Metropolis in Historical Perspective(1999-04) Diamond, EtanUntil the middle of this century, people’s conceptions of proximity and distance were closely correlated. Things physically nearby were perceived as “close,” while physically distant places were “far.” But changes in transportation and communication technology changed this dynamic. The metropolis is now structured around time, rather than distance. For congregations, this represents a dramatic shift. What does it mean to have a congregation that is geographically scattered yet still feels some tie to a church? What does “neighborhood ministry” mean when metropolitan growth has transformed the neighborhood into something much larger? How can you define “community” when you can’t physically see it? Roundtable discussion follows essay.Item Indianapolis Clergy: Private Ministries, Public Figures(2000-11) Mirola, William A.As religious and community leaders, clergy have joined the political battles over slavery, Prohibition, civil rights, the anti-war movement, and abortion. Recently, The Polis Center sponsored a telephone survey to explore the role clergy play in shaping community life in Indianapolis, and the extent of their involvement in neighborhood and city affairs. City residents were sampled to compare their views of clergy with how the clergy viewed themselves. In general, we found that Indianapolis clergy see themselves as having more influence in civic affairs than residents perceive them as having.Item The Mosaic of Black Religion in Indianapolis(2000-09) Wedam, ElfriedeUsing the categories devised by Robert Franklin, we examined an array of worship styles and social-political stances among approximately 100 African-American congregations in Indianapolis. We found little evidence of the radical activist engagement that was once identified with black churches. However, new styles of social and political engagement are beginning to emerge. Franklin's categories range from grassroots revivalists, who focus on personal salvation and individual responsibility, to prophetic radicals, who critique the basic economic and political structures of American society. The issue includes a roundtable discussion featuring scholars Elfriede Wedam, Ron Sommerville, and Joseph Tamney.Item Religion and Mobility in 20th Century Indianapolis(1999-12) Diamond, EtanReligious commuting—the act of driving to church in another neighborhood or even on the other side of the city—has been part of the metropolitan experience since the early 20th century. Surveys have consistently shown that people willingly drive past nearby congregations to attend one they prefer farther away. Such patterns of religious mobility challenge common perceptions that congregations are—or should be—locally oriented. Nevertheless, religious commuting can help to foster a sense of metropolitan connectedness, as people drive through other parts of the city to attend worship.Item Religion and Social Welfare in 20th Century Indianapolis(1999-06) Mapes, MaryWhat is most striking about faith-based social welfare in the 20th century is not its decline but its continued presence. Despite the widespread fears of many that an expanded welfare state would result in a less vibrant civil society, the policies initiated by the public welfare sector often had the effect of helping buttress the voluntary sector even as they guaranteed a dominant role for the public sector. In Indianapolis, public agencies often frequently enlarged their responsibility for social welfare by cooperating with faith-based agencies. The history of the relationship between public social welfare agencies and private voluntary organizations suggests that, in Indianapolis at least, the voluntary or independent sector has never been completely independent; neither has the welfare state overtaken the voluntary sector. Roundtable discussion follows essay.Item Religion and the Regional Metropolis(1999-01) Farnsley, Arthur E. IIDuring the last few decades, cities have redefined their boundaries to include their metropolitan areas. Greater Indianapolis, defined by economic and social interdependency, is a nine-county region of which Marion County is the center. How will religion shape, and be shaped by, the shift in focus from city to metropolis? Beginning with this issue of Research Notes, the essay is followed by a roundtable discussion of the issues raised in the paper. Participants included: Kim Didier of the Front Porch Alliance (FPA); Bill Enright, pastor of Second Presbyterian Church; Art Farnsley, director of research at The Polis Center; and moderator Kevin Armstrong, senior public teacher at The Polis Center.