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High on God

Audiobook
Nonfiction: Religion
Unabridged   12 hour(s)
Publication date: 04/28/2020

High on God

How Megachurches Won the Heart of America

Available from major retailers or BUY FROM AMAZON
Digital Download ISBN:9781684577736

Summary

High on God gives the first robust and plausible explanation for why megachurches have conquered the churchgoing market of America.

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Product Description

"God is like a drug, a high, [I] can't wait for the next hit." This direct quote from a megachurch member speaking about his experience of God might be dismissed as some sort of spiritually-induced drug riff. However, according to the research in this book, it was not only sincere, but a deeply felt, and sought-after sensibility. Megachurch attendees desire this first-hand experience of God, and many report finding it in their congregations.

High on God gives the first robust and plausible explanation for why megachurches have conquered the churchgoing market of America. Without condescension or exaggeration, the authors show the genius of megachurches: the power of charisma, the design of facilities, the training of leaders, the emotional dynamics, and the strategies that bring people together and lead them to serve and help others. Using Emile Durkheim's concept of homo duplex, the authors plot the strategies that megachurches employ to satisfy the core human craving for personal meaning and social integration, as well as personal identity and communal solidarity. The authors also show how these churches can go wrong, sometimes tragically so. But they argue that, for the most part, megachurches help their attendees find themselves through bonding with and serving others.

Reviews/Praise

"This pivotal book provides groundbreaking anaylsis of the motivating social behaviors within megachurches and will certainly ignite conversation among religion scholars." —Publishers Weekly Starred Review

Author Bio

Katie E. Corcoran is assistant professor of sociology at West Virginia University. Her areas of expertise are in religion, organizations, emotion, criminology, and social networks. Corcoran coauthored the book Religious Hostility: A Global Assessment of Hatred and Terror with Rodney Stark. Kate J. Stockly is a PhD candidate in the Graduate Program in Religion at Boston University. She is also a doctoral fellow at the Center for Mind and Culture in Boston, where she researches cross-cultural sex differences in religion and the contemporary use of brain-based technologies for spiritual enhancement. James K. Wellman, Jr., is professor and chair of the Comparative Religion Program in the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. Wellman's publications include an award-winning book, The Gold Coast Church and the Ghetto: Christ and Culture in Mainline Protestantism.