Unlike the Catholic Church, the Protestant Church is known for its highly decentralised and local structure. But how is the church managed in times of church criticism? A conversation on Reformation Day with organisational sociologist Marcel Schütz.
Mr Schütz, together with your colleague Heinke Röbken, you looked at the leadership structures and development of congregations in some Protestant regional churches on the basis of almost one hundred interviews with clergy and volunteers. What was the aim of your study?
We were interested in the instrument of "visitation". This is a regular, recurring, official visit by church leaders or representatives of the church leadership to their congregations. The programme focuses on the ministerial conduct of the pastors, congregational life and the future of the congregation. The visitation has existed since the time of the Reformation, so it has a long tradition in Protestantism. On the one hand, it supports pastoral care and counselling, on the other hand it is about disciplinary matters and control. Quite an area of tension. We wanted to know how those involved perceive, understand and process this tension.
What did you find out? Members of the Protestant church traditionally take a rather critical view of leadership and hierarchy.
Whether those involved actually perceive the visits as support or control depends on their previous experience, the conditions of the congregation and the situation. Our results show that official visits serve both informal dialogue and confidential exchange as well as subtle exhortation and guidance. There is an uncertainty that can be utilised by all sides. In addition, these meetings have what we call an "artificial naturalness". Everyone endeavours to present themselves correctly without appearing stiff. There is a lot of pressure on the church today: it is losing members, its acceptance is dwindling, its legitimacy seems fragile.
Where does this artificial naturalness come from?
We believe that this is, if I may say so, typically Protestant: there is a fear of too much formality, but then again an endeavour to maintain good order. That can be exhausting: The clergy and parishioners should become more and more actively involved and articulate expectations for the future of the church. This gives rise to creative impulses which, however, must be managed organisationally by the church. But piling up plans also produces disappointments.
How did it come about that you were able to carry out such research across the country in the church?
The idea for the project came about at the end of 2015, and in the following year we gained four regional churches as research partners who supported the project and thus the research in their congregations. The regional churches are part of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), which also supported our project. We conducted the interviews in 2017 - supported by experts who already have extensive experience with projects in the Catholic and Protestant churches. We also discussed our findings with the church leaders afterwards.
What are the implications of your research for the church or other organisations?
Our study helps to understand the role that informal events play in what are actually highly formalised organisational processes, and not just in the church. I mean this with regard to the subtle transitions between official order and deviations from it. In my view, the strength of visitations lies in the fact that different interpretations of their function exist side by side without being openly named. Another point concerns the handling of reforms and development. There is a phenomenon in organisational change that we call "diversions benefits" in research: A lot is planned and prepared and yet much is never implemented in this way. Nevertheless, those involved gain something from discussions and conflicts with each other or come to decisions in the end. Bettina Heintz, a Swiss sociologist, speaks of "entanglement" in the process. I find that aptly put. Official procedures enforce personal involvement and behaviour. And this in turn promotes the ability to engage more consciously with the working methods, players and roles, regardless of the individual issues at stake.
Interview: Constanze Böttcher