{"id":{"repo_id":"baylor","oai_identifier":"oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/13810"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/baylor/oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/13810","repository":{"repo_id":"baylor","name":"Baylor University","base_url":"https://baylor-ir.tdl.org/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Maybe less is more : congregation size and social embeddedness in the age of the megachurch.","abstract":"A growing body of research documents the rise of large congregations, their success in appealing to younger, more diverse demographics, and what these patterns say about the religious landscape more broadly. A commonly assumed, yet underdeveloped, aspect of this literature is the relationship between congregation size and social embeddedness. Using multilevel data from the 2001 U.S. Congregational Life Survey (USCLS), I analyze the relationship between weekly church attendance and congregational belonging and friendship, and how these relationships vary across religious traditions. Results indicate a negative relationship between congregation size and social embeddedness for all traditions except Black Protestants, who display the opposite pattern. For other traditions, meanwhile, in the largest congregations, the negative relationship attenuates for belonging, but not for friendship. These findings suggest some limitations to prevailing narratives about church growth and highlight the importance of accounting for religious tradition in future studies on congregation size and social dynamics.","abstract_html":"A growing body of research documents the rise of large congregations, their success in appealing to younger, more diverse demographics, and what these patterns say about the religious landscape more broadly. A commonly assumed, yet underdeveloped, aspect of this literature is the relationship between congregation size and social embeddedness. Using multilevel data from the 2001 U.S. Congregational Life Survey (USCLS), I analyze the relationship between weekly church attendance and congregational belonging and friendship, and how these relationships vary across religious traditions. Results indicate a negative relationship between congregation size and social embeddedness for all traditions except Black Protestants, who display the opposite pattern. For other traditions, meanwhile, in the largest congregations, the negative relationship attenuates for belonging, but not for friendship. These findings suggest some limitations to prevailing narratives about church growth and highlight the importance of accounting for religious tradition in future studies on congregation size and social dynamics.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Peterson, Riley S. (Riley Scott), 2000-"],"institution":"Baylor University.","degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Uecker, Jeremy."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05","date_published":"2025-05","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:07:56Z","subjects":["Congregations.","Social cohesion.","Religious tradition.","Black Protestantism."],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2104/13810","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Uecker, Jeremy."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Peterson, Riley S. (Riley Scott), 2000-"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-09-05T17:24:36Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-05"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Baylor University."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Congregations.","Social cohesion.","Religious tradition.","Black Protestantism."]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2104/13810"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["A growing body of research documents the rise of large congregations, their success in appealing to younger, more diverse demographics, and what these patterns say about the religious landscape more broadly. A commonly assumed, yet underdeveloped, aspect of this literature is the relationship between congregation size and social embeddedness. Using multilevel data from the 2001 U.S. Congregational Life Survey (USCLS), I analyze the relationship between weekly church attendance and congregational belonging and friendship, and how these relationships vary across religious traditions. Results indicate a negative relationship between congregation size and social embeddedness for all traditions except Black Protestants, who display the opposite pattern. For other traditions, meanwhile, in the largest congregations, the negative relationship attenuates for belonging, but not for friendship. These findings suggest some limitations to prevailing narratives about church growth and highlight the importance of accounting for religious tradition in future studies on congregation size and social dynamics."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Maybe less is more : congregation size and social embeddedness in the age of the megachurch."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Uecker, Jeremy."],"dc:creator":["Peterson, Riley S. (Riley Scott), 2000-"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-09-05T17:24:36Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-05"],"dc:description.abstract":["A growing body of research documents the rise of large congregations, their success in appealing to younger, more diverse demographics, and what these patterns say about the religious landscape more broadly. A commonly assumed, yet underdeveloped, aspect of this literature is the relationship between congregation size and social embeddedness. Using multilevel data from the 2001 U.S. Congregational Life Survey (USCLS), I analyze the relationship between weekly church attendance and congregational belonging and friendship, and how these relationships vary across religious traditions. Results indicate a negative relationship between congregation size and social embeddedness for all traditions except Black Protestants, who display the opposite pattern. For other traditions, meanwhile, in the largest congregations, the negative relationship attenuates for belonging, but not for friendship. These findings suggest some limitations to prevailing narratives about church growth and highlight the importance of accounting for religious tradition in future studies on congregation size and social dynamics."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/2104/13810"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:rights":["Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission."],"dc:subject":["Congregations.","Social cohesion.","Religious tradition.","Black Protestantism."],"dc:title":["Maybe less is more : congregation size and social embeddedness in the age of the megachurch."],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A."],"thesis:institution_name":["Baylor University."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:07:56Z"}