CHANGES IN RELIGIOUS ECOLOGY AND SOCIOECONOMIC CORRELATES FOR NEIGHBORHOODS IN A METROPOLITAN REGION

Economic and social forces have altered the landscape for religious institutions in many postindustrial cities, with potentially serious implications for communities that ostensibly stand to benefit from their presence. In recent decades, changes in neighborhood racial composition and out-migration to distant suburbs have divested many urban communities of once-vibrant social institutions, among them places of worship. This article undertakes an empirical approach to examine the socioeconomic correlates of church closures in neighborhoods in a Midwestern U.S. metropolitan area. Utilizing an index of nine measures of social and economic viability, the study found that the type of congregational closure is significantly related to viability outcomes. In particular, the closure of geographically based congregations and those characterized by bridging social capital were significantly related to declines in neighborhood viability. Theoretical concepts from religious ecology, place attachment, and social capital/civic engagement structure the analysis.