ABSTRACT
By the mid-1980s the field of congregational studies in the English-speaking world had produced a sufficiently rich crop for Hopewell (1987) to offer a typological survey. Hopewell divided the studies into four types: contextual, mechanistic, organic and cultural. He himself championed and helped to shape the last approach, particularly within ecclesiastical and theological circles. Since Hopewell wrote, the field has grown considerably, and has taken directions he could not have anticipated. It is now fed by many disciplines including theology, religious studies, sociology, anthropology, organizational studies, linguistics, social theory and gender studies. It takes shape in many institutional settings, not only in theological colleges, seminaries and churches, but in university departments and by way of funded research projects. Its practitioners range from clergy and lay people seeking to understand and resource their own congregations, to social scientists seeking to discern the fate of ‘community’ in late-capitalist societies. This chapter provides a fresh survey of congregational studies which takes
account of developments in the last couple of decades, and modifies and develops Hopewell’s typology in light of them.1 It focuses primarily on congregational studies from the UK, including books, influential articles and PhD theses.2 Coverage of congregational studies in the USA is limited to studies that have been influential on both sides of the Atlantic.3
