Use the above window to search all fields. Otherwise, search individual fields below.
Please note: In many of the bibliographic records, MKI has not used umlauts (ä, ö, ü) or the letter ß. Try searching both for umlauts and for ae, oe, or ue, and ss.
| Format | Dissertation |
|---|---|
| Creator | Graber, Robert Bates |
| Title | The Sociocultural Differentiation of a Religious Sect: Schisms among the Pennsylvania German Mennonites. Dissertation |
| Dissertation Note (type -- academic institution) | Dissertation -- The University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee |
| Date | 1979 |
| Extent of Work | 294 pp. |
| Abstract | Schisms among the Pennsylvania German Mennonites are analyzed as differentiations of parent groups into factions differing in degree of social boundedness. (A group is firmly bounded to the extent that it excludes persons and influences, and governs admission by a rite of passage.) A minority faction, or splinter group, was either firmly or weakly bounded compared to its corresponding majority faction, or main group. Schisms in which the splinter groups attracted only a small minority of the parent group membership are said to have been narrow in scope. Schisms varied in the extent to which redressive action occurred within the parent group, or involved outsiders as well. These schisms permit multiple testing of hypotheses about age and wealth. Weakly bounded splinter group leaders are predicted to have been younger and more prosperous than main group leaders. Firmly bounded splinter group leaders are predicted to have been older and less prosperous than main group leaders. Data were collected on 15 schisms occurring between 1778 and 1969, using published sources, United States census schedules, and county tax rolls. Due to selective survival of information, samples consisted mainly of ordained leaders, although some influential laymen were included. Sample sizes were small, ranging from 5 up to 43. Five schisms produced weakly bounded splinter groups, while ten produced firmly bounded splinter groups. The hypothesis about age in weakly bounded splinter groups is supported in four out of five schisms. The differences are not pronounced, however. The wealth hypothesis for weakly bounded splinter groups is supported in three of the five schisms. Of the ten firmly bounded splinter groups, only three supported the age hypothesis. Wealth data were located for eight of the firmly bounded splinter groups. Only three of them provided support for the wealth hypothesis. The analysis of redressive action and schism scope pointed to the special significance of two schisms. In one, the most prosperous leader had not channeled his resources into providing the sect with a needed service. Although the schism had broad scope, it was contained within a single geographic region. In the other, the most prosperous leader fulfilled a widespread need rooted in the sect's demographic expansion. For the first time, a schismatic conflict was not contained within a single geographic region. Widespread reaction occurred against the boundary weakening trends advocated by this leader. It is suggested that the withdrawal of these reactionary splinter groups contributed to the subsequent higher integration of the sect by reducing internal variation across regions rather than merely within them, as was the case in other schisms. |
| Notes | UMI, printed in 1988. Book, in MadCat. |
| Call Number | MKI BX8117 P4 G7x; shelved with MKI dissertations |
| MKI Terms | Mennonites/ Pennsylvania/ Pennsylvania Germans/ Religion |