The impact of congregational structure on the transformation of Christian worship style

Christianity is undergoing a transformation. Unlike the one that was led by Martin Luther in 1517, which challenged some doctrines while keeping most of the traditional worship style, this on-going reformation challenges the worship form that has been rooted for centuries. This new worship form emphasizes emotional expression while neglecting the conformity to abstract creeds or formal rituals. It aims to find a greater freedom in Christian worship.; While many mainline Christian churches have been losing members since the late 1960s, some churches, with the adoption of the new worship form, are growing. Religious economists, viewing religious organizations as economic firms, argue that religious organizations need to compete in religious markets, and those that meet their customers' preferences will survive and prosper in the age of religious pluralism. They believe that competition in religious markets will make religious organizations more efficient and assume that religious organizations are driven by efficiency-maximization. This research argues that like other social organizations, change of religious organizations is influenced by organizational structures. It uses organizational theory to examine the factors that influence change in congregations.; Based on data from Taiwanese and Chinese American congregations, this research found that congregations, like other social organizations, are also subject to organizational processes. The results of multiple regression show that the adoption of the new worship form is influenced by internal organizational characteristics of congregations (age and size) and their external network ties (intradenominational and interdenominational interactions). The impact of denomination, which was expected to influence the worship style of congregations, loses significance after controlling for these organizational factors. This research concludes that the worship styles of congregations, although ostensibly reflecting their underlying theological views, are in fact more strongly influenced by congregational structures and networks. The point is not that denomination does not matter; rather, denominations influence congregations by shaping the networks congregations most frequently interact with.