Let there be no divisions among you: Vineyard ministry practices as buffers ag…

[Lauren P. Bailes]

Abstract:

Churches are either bastions of or buffers against social, political, and interpersonal alienation. The study of alienation is situated in an intellectual history that begins with original sin and extends to sociological and anthropological understandings of modernity (see for example: Murray, 2012; Stoker & Evans, 2014). Seeman’s (1959) landmark explication of alienation theorizes that its composite parts include anomie (normlessness), isolation, and meaninglessness. Empirical evidence suggests that individuals who are prohibited from either interpersonal or institutional influence fare less well than their connected counterparts (Nussbaum, 2010). Research also indicates that whole communities are healthier, safer, and more successful when they experience social cohesion and collective efficacy, which may serve to defend against alienation and the manifestations of alienation in urban neighborhoods (Sampson, Raudenbush, & Earls, 1997). The process of creating alienated “spectators” – de-agentified and systemically disregarded stakeholders – is well-documented is political systems yet less well conceptualized or understood in social systems such as churches (Borja, 2015). The purpose of this study, then, is to locate the role of the church in extant literature on the social, cultural, and political nature of alienation. Further, this study investigates several key Vineyard ministry practices and their potential to either perpetuate or protect individuals and communities from alienation.

The full paper is attached to this post.