Spatial Processes and the Duality of Church and Faith: A Simmelian Perspective on U.S. Denominational Growth, 1900–1930

Abstract

With information on all U.S. denominations of nontrivial sizes, this paper examines various spatial and temporal prcesses underlying religious expansion between 1900 and 1930. Simmel's provocative and complex essay, “Soziologie des Raumes” (1903) poses the central paradox that religion is both faith—cultural constellations of beliefs—and church—social associations that are spatially situated. This distinction helps to clarify differences among denominations with regard to the extent to which they exert strong demands on their members, and leads to predictions about variation in denominational growth rates, in spatial dynamics, and in the extent to which denominations accommodate to contextual heterodoxy (diversity) or not. In these terms, we re-examine the debate about whether adherence rates increase in competitive markets (under conditions of diversity) or under monopoly conditions (under conditions of little diversity). We finally suggest that Simmel's theoretical emphasis on spatial and temporal dynamics has relevance for understanding the nature of mobilization efforts of various kinds, not only by religious groups, but also by those that organize social and political movements