Preview
The previous chapter discussed the Catholic Church as if it were like any other modern organization, but institutionalized religion is different from all other types of organization in important ways. The aim of this chapter is to examine how to take account of this difference. It begins by observing that most organization theories focus exclusively on mundane rational behavior, and that given their philosophical and epistemological assumptions, such theories are inadequate for explaining social change in religious organizations. The second half of the chapter examines the place of religion in social life and describes a newly emerging theoretical paradigm (labeled as transpersonal) that incorporates the spiritual domain in a model of social change. This new paradigm allows examination of the stages of social development and the unique character of religious organizations.
Keywords: Catholic Church; organizations; religious organizations; social change; theoretical models; transpersonal paradigm
Chapter. 5089 words.
Subjects: Religious Studies
Go to Oxford Scholarship Online » abstract
Full text: subscription required
How to subscribe Recommend to my Librarian
Buy this work at Oxford University Press »
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content. Please, subscribe or login to access all content.