Overview

The social sciences have mostly ignored the role of physical buildings in shaping the social fabric of communities and groups. Although the emerging field of the sociology of architecture has started to pay attention to physical structures, Brenneman and Miller are the first to combine the light of sociological theory and the empirical method in order to understand the impact of physical structures on religious groups that build, transform, and maintain them. Religious buildings not only reflect the groups that build them or use them; these physical structures actually shape and change those who gather and worship there.Religious buildings are all around us. From Wall Street to Main Street, from sublime and historic cathedrals to humble converted storefronts, these buildings shape the global religious landscape,

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9780190883447

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Reviews

An engaging preliminary consideration of the sociology of religious buildings. -- J.H. Rubin, emeritus, University of Saint Joseph, CHOICE Too long ignored, religious buildings shape - in ever-changing ways -- the groups that worship in them and the communities that surround them. Brenneman and Miller show us why and how that matters, with examples that range from simple Guatemalan pentecostal structures to mosques in Vermont. In lively fashion, this book expands our understanding of how religion works. -- Nancy T. Ammerman, author of Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes: Finding Religion in Everyday Life Whether church, mosque, or temple, Brenneman and Miller guide readers to see religious architecture as more than private devotional spaces. These public spaces structure individual and collective behavior, providing an infrastructure that shapes and re-shapes social life DL even as the buildings themselves are innovatively re-shaped over time. A necessary read that resources a much-needed focus on the material basis of religion. -- Gerardo Marti, co-author ofAThe Glass Church: Robert H. Schuller, the Crystal Cathedral, and the Strain of Megachurch Ministry Is it true that a church is not the building but the people? If so, why do congregations invest so much time and money in their places of worship and have such strong opinions about them? Brenneman and Miller demonstrate that religious buildings continue to matter today. They need to be taken seriously by their congregations and by society at large. -- Duncan Stroik, architect and author of The Church Building as a Sacred Place

Too long ignored, religious buildings shape - in ever-changing ways -- the groups that worship in them and the communities that surround them. Brenneman and Miller show us why and how that matters, with examples that range from simple Guatemalan pentecostal structures to mosques in Vermont. In lively fashion, this book expands our understanding of how religion works. -- Nancy T. Ammerman, author of Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes: Finding Religion in Everyday Life Whether church, mosque, or temple, Brenneman and Miller guide readers to see religious architecture as more than private devotional spaces. These public spaces structure individual and collective behavior, providing an infrastructure that shapes and re-shapes social life DL even as the buildings themselves are innovatively re-shaped over time. A necessary read that resources a much-needed focus on the material basis of religion. -- Gerardo Marti, co-author ofAThe Glass Church: Robert H. Schuller, the Crystal Cathedral, and the Strain of Megachurch Ministry Is it true that a church is not the building but the people? If so, why do congregations invest so much time and money in their places of worship and have such strong opinions about them? Brenneman and Miller demonstrate that religious buildings continue to matter today. They need to be taken seriously by their congregations and by society at large. -- Duncan Stroik, architect and author of The Church Building as a Sacred Place

Is it true that a church is not the building but the people? If so, why do congregations invest so much time and money in their places of worship and have such strong opinions about them? Brenneman and Miller demonstrate that religious buildings continue to matter today. They need to be taken seriously by their congregations and by society at large. * Duncan Stroik, architect and author of The Church Building as a Sacred Place * Whether church, mosque, or temple, Brenneman and Miller guide readers to see religious architecture as more than private devotional spaces. These public spaces structure individual and collective behavior, providing an infrastructure that shapes and re-shapes social life - even as the buildings themselves are innovatively re-shaped over time. A necessary read that resources a much-needed focus on the material basis of religion. * Gerardo Marti, co-author ofAThe Glass Church: Robert H. Schuller, the Crystal Cathedral, and the Strain of Megachurch Ministry * Too long ignored, religious buildings shape - in ever-changing ways * the groups that worship in them and the communities that surround them. Brenneman and Miller show us why and how that matters, with examples that range from simple Guatemalan pentecostal structures to mosques in Vermont. In lively fashion, this book expands our understanding of how religion works. *

Author Information

Brian J. Miller is Associate Professor of Sociology at Wheaton College where he studies multiple aspects of suburbs, social media use among emerging adults, and religion and place.

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