Ideology and the Riverside Church.
Item
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Title
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Ideology and the Riverside Church.
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Identifier
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AAI9108140
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identifier
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9108140
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Creator
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Loeb, Maria-Luisa.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Eric Wolf
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Date
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1990
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Anthropology, Cultural | American Studies | Sociology, Theory and Methods | Religion, General
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Abstract
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The object of this research has been to identify and analyze the ideological parameters responsible for the group identity of Riverside as a congregation. Starting from a theoretical model of ideology as selective knowledge produced and constrained by ever changing historical contexts, this research has focused on those aspects of Riverside's present and past which have appeared to resonate with congregational attention. This has required isolating key activities at the church; following the waxing and waning of constituencies that support them; and elucidating the role of worship as binder of a common identity and as locus for the encounter of differences. Each direction of research has found evidence of a feed-back between extra-congregational concerns and received Christian wisdom. Thus worshippers bring to Riverside ideas and commitments which they endeavor to realize through the church, for which the surest path is gaining the pulpit's ear. Concurrently, the Christian message delivered from Riverside's pulpit bestows an imprimatur of truth to selective concerns present in the congregation. Hence it tends to both attract those in agreement with its message and unleash the competition of constituencies cherishing different commitments. It is in this mutual constitution of audience and of message that the parameters of a Riverside identity are constantly being fashioned. This points to the fluidity of the group identity of Riversiders as a congregation and to the inherent flexibility of the ideological stance of the church.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy Restricted.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.