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The churching of America, 1776-2005: winners and losers in our religious economy is a provocative book by Roger Finke and Rodney Stark that has profoundly shifted how American religious practices are viewed. The authors provide a comprehensive overview of changes, trends, and developments within American religious practices, thereby challenging previous knowledge on the subject. They elaborate on how contemporary religious organizations, with the introduction of freedom of religion, started to operate by to the laws of a free market economy and rational choice theory. Furthermore, they explain how the religious economy resulted in a decline of mainline denominations and a rise of newly formed, pluralistic religious organizations. The former is therefore referred to as the loser, and the latter is the winner in the book. One crucial thing becomes clear about American religious traditions: despite the secularization, humans still need organizations that would fit their needs, and upstart sects are right there to compete for their souls.
Authors claim that unconventional religious institutions, or as authors call them, upstart sects operate according to the laws of a free market: they compete with each other for members and regulate their doctrines according to demands of their potential recruits. This willingness to adapt to the needs of the market and client-oriented approach is one of significant elements that make upstart churches more desirable for Americans, thereby making them winners. Correspondingly, conventional denominations refusal to do so and their rigorous and distant doctrines brought about their relentless downfall (Finke & Stark, 2005). For this reason, mainline religious entities are losers in the new realm of religious economy.
Furthermore, the introduction of freedom of religion allowed minority groups to form new religious organizations that would be more suitable for their unique cultural backgrounds and would serve as a safe space. A great example of this phenomenon would be the development and popularization of African American churches and religious communions of various ethnic minority groups. Hence, mainstream denominations reluctance to adopt the principles of a free market economy in the age of freedom of religion and pluralistic society resulted in their decline.
The book sheds light on recent developments in American religious traditions. For example, it was a common assumption that only denominations had a monopoly of religious authority and power. The book, however, revealed that more and more Americans prefer newly formed, customized types of religious congregations that follow the laws of supply and demand and use a client-oriented approach to attract members. Such upstart sects bring more satisfaction to their members due to their customized approach. Thus, it is evident that American people still want to consume religious products, but not the ones sold by mainstream denominations.
Additionally, American people reveal their willingness to join a religious entity if it offers high-quality religious goods, the criteria for which varies from person to person. Finke and Stark described the criteria in the following way: Humans want their religion to be sufficiently potent, vivid, and compelling so that it can offer them rewards of great magnitude. People seek a religion that is capable of miracles and imparts order and sanity to the human condition. The religious organizations that maximize these aspects of religion, however, also demand the highest price in terms of what the individual must do to qualify for these rewards. (Finke & Stark, 2005, p.282). As the last sentence claims, church members must pay the price or a sacrifice to get religious products. However, according to rational choice theory, people want to minimize costs. This is another case displaying that upstart sects are willing to cut the costs, whereas mainline firms are reluctant, making the former more profitable.
Finke and Stark turned common knowledge of American religious practices into common misconceptions. Contrary to common assumptions, American people are not becoming less religious; they are instead switching to newly emerged religious groups. The market economy principles lay the basis for such tendencies and determine religious marketplace. As it is unconventional to think about religion in terms of an economic system, this book pushes its readers to re-assess the pre-conceived ideas about American Religious Traditions.
Reference
Finke, R., & Stark, R. (2005). The churching of America, 1776-2005): winners and losers in our religious economy. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
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