Institutionalized Norms,Practical Organizational Activity,and Loose Coupling: Inclusive Congregations’ Responses to Homosexuality

Congregations vary widely in their responses to homosexuality. Among those inclusive congregations that integrate gays and lesbians into congregational life, why do some adopt a formal organizational statement of welcoming while others do not? Drawing on the new institutionalism and inhabited institutions literatures, this study is the first quantitative examination of the concept of “loose coupling” within religious organizations regarding homosexuality. Analyses using nationally representative congregational data (National Congregations Study) indicate that particular types of inclusive congregations are more likely to loosely couple their practical activity from their formal organizational stance. These findings suggest that inclusive religious organizations respond to myths and norms from various organizational fields and that agentic actors inhabiting the organization influence it by responding, interpreting, and making sense of those institutional norms. The analyses also indicate that loose coupling is one avenue through which particular types of religious organizations respond to the transformation of societal norms with innovation.