SOCIOLOGY 265 -- Church Visits

11:45 Tuesday - Thursday
Michael R. Leming, Professor
Spring 1998

You may work in pairs on this assignment, should you wish. Two visits are required, each to a different church and a church you were not raised in nor belong to now. In other words, it's time to experience the new and different and to apply concepts from this course.

If you haven't a clue about the church/religious organization you want to visit, a good place to start is the Northfield or the M/SP Yellow Pages. The 1997/98 edition, will offer a lot of possibilities. There are even Buddhist churches listed. You may also want to check for Synagogues. You may also want to try the Saturday edition of the Tribune or Pioneer Press to get additional ideas. To get started, you may (though this isn't required) want to get in touch with the minister and let him/her know you would like to visit. IN ANY CASE, please submit with you reports the name and phone number of the pastor, rabbi, priest, leader, monk, whoever, so that I can verify your visit.

What should you look for when you make your visit? Some (not necessarily all) of the themes below will be pertinent:

Does the church belong to a broader denomination or is it an independent church? Why are they independent (ask the pastor -- you should touch base in any case), e.g., if independent Baptist, why not affiliated with American Baptist, BGC, or Southern Baptist? You may have to read ahead of assigned readings in your texts to learn something about the church, (e.g., McGuire chapters 4 and 5). Helpful to many students in the past is the book written by Leo Rosten entitled Religions of America. This book sketches the main beliefs and structure of many religions in this country. Feel free to get it from the library and photocopy a few pages (do not check it out). Also, does the denomination, e.g., Lutheran or Scientology, have its own Web-site? Check it out.
Keep in mind the major analytical concepts of this course: belief systems, myths, rituals, ethos or ethical precepts. How formally liturgical is the service? How do they "keep alive" their distinctiveness? (See McGuire Chapter 5.) How is deviance warned against? Inquire about membership requirements: strict or not so strict? Is it a church/group that makes tough demands on members? How countercultural is this church/group? Is it "at home" in American culture? (See McGuire Chapter 7.) All the preceding questions are relevant to the concept of plausibility structures. Could you detect any civil religious themes? (See McGuire Chapter 6.) Does the church take stands on issues of the day, e.g., physician-assisted suicide?

How should you write up your reports? The main challenge is to integrate what you see, hear and learn with themes of the course--not every theme, of course, but ones that seem pertinent to the church/group you are visiting. Length of reports: each should be from 7 to 10 pages, double-spaced. If you wish to have me check out a draft of your report before finalizing it, I would be happy to give you feedback.
Smart idea is to integrate your visits with one or both seminar papers (e.g., you're visiting a Jewish synagogue, write a paper on Judaism and its sects).

THIS PAPER IS DUE: APRIL 23.

Go back to Sociology 265 - Religion, Culture and Society

If you have any questions or comments please email:

leming@stolaf.edu