Abstract:
This is a study of personal networks from a sample of two contrasting
congregations in Northern Ireland: one is Anglican (‘A’), historic and rural, the
other newly formed, independent and evangelical (‘I.E.’). This research helps to
redress the lack of such studies in Britain and Ireland as compared to those in the
USA. Using data from survey questionnaires and computer aided social network
analysis, it investigates the role a congregation may have within such members’
networks. The findings can be broken down into four sections. First, although a
substantial proportion of co-congregants formed actors’ networks, these did not
form the majority of nodes. Second, Anglicans differed from the Independent
Evangelical respondents in having networks of congregants who were, a)
predominantly kin and b) more extensive in number. For the ‘I.E.’, the key
integrative connections were provided by co-congregants. Third, congregants
from both churches were primarily located within multiplex relationships – the
people from their church were also either kin or already known through some
other friendship group. Fourth, whilst each congregation can be differentiated
from the other by social attributes (such as SEC, age, residency) such features
appeared to be more that of induced homophily (local contexts and personal
networks) rather than as a result of the simple agency of choice. Giddens’
Structuration Theory was found to be a useful application for the theoretical
animation of these results, especially in how the congregation acts as a station for
congregants, integrating the household with the meso-level of social structure.