Structure, Context, and Ideological Dissonance in Transnational Religious Networks

Abstract

Many US-based religious groups engage in networked relationships with religionists in countries elsewhere around the world, investing millions of dollars and personnel hours annually. Evangelical or fundamentalist groups alone do not account for all this network activity; even more liberal-leaning Christian denominations engage extensively in transnational relationships. This inductive study begins with a description of the scope of global network involvement by so-called mainline Christian bodies in the US, then examines in greater detail the structure and context of the transnational ties of one denomination, the Episcopal Church, using data drawn from surveys and four indices relevant to the study of civil society. The potential implications of these transnational religious networks, especially for civil society in developing regions, are tentatively explored by considering ideological differences between religionists linked by network ties.