Polity and Decision Premises: The Church and the Private School

Abstract

C onsiderable evidence suggests that religious denominations' formal (traditional) polity structures, i.e., congregational, presbyterian, and episcopal patterns, persist in influencing internal control and other structural processes of contemporary denominations (e.g., see Harrison, 1959; Gustafson, 1963; Newman, 1970; Wood, 1970; Takayama, 1974 and 1975). Because denominations' formal polities embody traditional ethos and symbols, as well as the theological underpinnings of their respective polities, polity differences significantly influence the way in which informal and bureaucratic power structures and the environment affect internal control in denominations (Takayama, 1975:17)1 This paper reports results of a study based on and extending the previous research into the relatively neglected area of political actions of local churches. The subject under study was local churches' policy decisions to open new church-related private schools in response to court-ordered busing for racial integration in the public schools. More specifically, the role of church polity in influencing decisions of local churches to begin schools at that particular time was examined. It was expected