A Particular Place: Urban Restructuring and Religious Ecology in a Southern Exurb

by Nancy L. Eiesland

Overview

A Particular Place tells the story of the dramatic changes that take place in the religious lives of a community faced with urban restructuring—in this case, Dacula, Georgia, a once-quiet small town on the outskirts of Atlanta. The demographics of Dacula were changed dramatically by the population inflow, service sector development, and housing expansion brought on by the growing metropolis.

Nancy L. Eiesland provides a qualitative study of how the local religious congregations altered themselves, their relations with one another, and—over time—their community in light of this disruption to their social order. Eiesland accounts for these changes by examining the lives of area newcomers and long-time residents, discussing the responses of locals to the emergence of a megachurch in their community, investigating the wrenching processes of congregational birth and deaths, and studying responses to community conflicts.

Applying population ecology approaches to the study of religious organizations within their local contexts, A Particular Place addresses together two types of restructuring that are often mutually implicated—urban and religious restructuring. This book demonstrates all that can be learned from studious attention to a particular place.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813527383
Publisher:	Rutgers University Press
Publication date:	12/01/1999
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Nancy L. Eiesland is assistant professor of the sociology of religion at Candler School of Theology and the Graduate Division of Religion at Emory University. She is the co-editor of Contemporary American Religion: An Ethnographic Reader.

Table of Contents

Tables and Figures
Preface

Chapter 1. Changing Places: Urban and Religious Restructuring
​Chapter 2. "The Way It Looks from Here": Dacula, Georgia
​Chapter 3. A Place to Be Religious: Organizing Ecological Change
​Chapter 4. New Neighbors: A Congregation in Transition​
Chapter 5. Making Faith: Navigating within a Religious Ecology
​Chapter 6. Fighting the Good Fight: An Ecological Perspective on Local Conflict
​Chapter 7. Concluding Remarks

Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

Helen R. Ebaugh

Helen Rose Ebaugh, president, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion

The book's rich details and warm stories, framed in solid organizational theory, make it essential reading both for scholars trying to understand the changing religious landscape and for religious leaders trying to find their role in it.

R. Stephen Warner

R. Stephen Warner, professor of sociology, University of Illinois, Chicago

Writing with wisdom and wit, Nancy Eiesland introduces religious ecology through a textured case study of urbanization and religious restructuring in a Georgia town.

Editorial Reviews

Eisland (religion & sociology of religion, Candler School of Theology, and Emory U.) tells about dramatic changes that took place in the religious activities of a Georgia community faced with urban restructuring. She looks at how local religious congregations altered themselves, their community, and their relations with one another in light of disruptions to the social order due to population influx and housing expansion. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews