Contents: Introduction; Part 1 The Emerging Field: Congregational studies: taking stock, Linda Woodhead, Mathew Guest and Karin Tusting; The rise of congregational studies in the USA, Arthur Farnsley; 'Conference people': congregational studies in a globalizing world, Simon Coleman. Part 2 Congregations in the UK: The effects of evangelical renewal on congregational identities: a Welsh case study, Paul Chambers; 'Friendship, fellowship and acceptance': the public discourse of a thriving evangelical congregation, Mathew Guest; Display and division: congregational conflict among Roman Catholics, Peter McGrail; Congregations, narratives and identity: a Quaker case study, Peter Collins; Congregational cultures and the boundaries of identity, Timothy Jenkins. Part 3 Theoretical And Methodological Issues: The messiness of studying congregations using ethnographic methods, Frances Ward; Are congregations associations? The contribution of organizational studies to congregational studies?, Helen Cameron; Priests, parish and people: reconceiving a relationship, Douglas Davies; Denominational cultures: the Cinderella of congregational studies?, Philip Richter; The significance of gender for congregational studies, Kristin Aune; Putting congregational studies to work: ethnography, consultancy and change, Martin Stringer. Index.