Many religious congregations are active online and people seek out congregations online but existing research is less clear about whether all congregations within a geographic area are discoverable through online searches and what information about congregations is available online. Searching for congregations in a large suburban county on five online platforms – three directories (YellowPages.com, Yelp.com, ChurchFinder.com) and two social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram) – revealed over 700 congregations. The counts showed similarities and differences for certain religious groups compared to the 2020 U.S. Religion Census. It is difficult to have certainty regarding obtaining a complete population of congregations in this county given the ambiguity of some online information and the possible number of congregations not online. Of congregations found online, the different platforms enable researchers to examine locations, buildings, images, posts, links, activities, and interactions with online actors. These findings point to a need for more online searching for congregations in order to study hundreds of congregations at a time, compare online search results to other methods for finding congregations, and contribute to research on congregational activity, online interactions, and closures.
ÅhmanHenrikThorénClaes. 2021. “When Facebook Becomes Faithbook: Exploring Religious Communication in a Social Media Context.”Social Media + Society7(3):1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051211041644.
BeyerleinKraigMartinez-SchuldtRicardoJohnsonMadelineRyanPeter. 2024. “Studying Congregations’ Persistence, Repurpose, & Death: Results from a 20-Year Analysis in Chicago.”Presented at the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion conference, Pittsburgh, October 2024.
4.
BobkowskiPiotr S.Pearce.Lisa D.2011. “Baring Their Souls in Online Profiles or Not? Religious Self-Disclosure in Social Media.”Journal of the Scientific Study of Religion50(4):744–62. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2011.01597.x.
5.
BrennemanRobertMillerBrian J.2020. Building Faith: A Sociology of Religious Structures. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
6.
BrubakerPamela JoHaighMichel M.2017. “The Religious Facebook Experience: Uses and Gratifications of Faith-Based Content.”Social Media + Society3(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305117703723.
7.
BryanClintAlbakryMohammed. 2016. “‘To be Real Honest, I’m just like you’: Analyzing the Discourse of Personalization in Online Sermons.”Talk & Text36(6):683–703. https://doi.org/10.1515/text-2016-0030.
CampbellHeidi A.2012. “Understanding the Relationship between Religion Online and Offline in a Networked Society.”Journal of the American Academy of Religion80(1):64–93. https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfr074.
10.
CampbellHeidi A.SheldonZacharyGibsonJhaneGuzmanGiannina. 2020. “Technological and Mediated identity in American Multisite Churches.”Ecclesial Practices7(1):11–31. https://doi.org/10.1163/22144417-bja10002.
11.
ChavesMarkAndersonShawnaEagleAlisonHawkinsMaryHollemanAnnaRosoJoseph. 2020. National Congregations Study. Cumulative Data File and Codebook. Durham, NC: Duke University Department of Sociology.
12.
DiamondEtan. 2003. Souls of the City: Religion and the Search for Community in Postwar America. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
HartsonTaylor E.2021. “Converted Structures: Exploring Material Expressions of the Sacred and Secular.”Review of Religious Research63(3):435–69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-021-00447-0.
17.
HellandChristopher. 2016. “Digital Religion.” Pp. 177–96 in Handbook of Religion and Society, edited by YamaneDavid. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
18.
HigginsNicholas J.DjupePaul A.2022. “Congregation Shopping During the Pandemic: A Research Note.”Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion61(3–4):726–36. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12802.
19.
HollemanAnnaRosoJospehChavesMark. 2022. “Religious Congregations’ Technological and Financial Capacities on the Eve of the COVID-19 Pandemic.”Review of Religious Research64(1):163–88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-021-00477-8.
20.
HomanCasey P.2024. “Understanding Competition in Social Space: Religious Congregations in Manhattan, 1949 to 1999.”American Sociological Review89(1):60–87. https://doi.org/10.1177/00031224231221561.
21.
HoweJustine. 2018. Suburban Islam. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
22.
HutchingsTim. 2017. Creating Church Online: Ritual, Community and New Media. New York, NY: Routledge.
23.
LeeYoung-Joo. 2018. “Is Your Church “Liked” on Facebook? Social Media Use of Christian Congregations in the United States.”Nonprofit Management and Leadership28(3):383–98. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21291.
24.
McClurePaul K.2017. “Tinkering with Technology and Religion in the Digital Age: The Effects of Internet Use on Religious Belief, Behavior, and Belonging.”Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion56(3):481–97. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12365.
25.
MeltonJ. GordonFergusonToddFoertschSteven. 2023. “The Others: Finding and Counting America’s Invisible Churches.”Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion62(4):901–912. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12875.
26.
MillerBrian J.2017. “Growing Suburbs, Relocating Churches: The Suburbanization of Protestant Churches in the Chicago Region, 1925-1990.”Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion56(2):342–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12336.
27.
MillerBrian J.2018. “Still Standing after all These Years: The Presence and Internet Presentation of Religions Buildings in the Chicago Area, 1936-2016.”Visual Studies33(4):326–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/1472586X.2019.1584052.
28.
MillerBrian J.MundeyPeterHillJonathan P.2013. “Faith in the Age of Facebook: Exploring the Links between Religion and Social Network Site Membership and Use.”Sociology of Religion74(2):227–53. https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/srs073.
29.
NumrichPaul D.WedamElfriede. 2015. Religion and Community in the New Urban America. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
30.
PetersMarjorie Herlache, ed. 1981. DuPage County, Illinois, Churches and Their Records. Lombard, IL: Lombard Suburban Genealogical Society.
31.
SircarAtishRowley.Jennifer2020. “How are U.K. Churches Using Social Media to Engage with their Congregations?”Journal of Public Affairs20(1):e2029. https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2029.
32.
StarrChelseaWaldoKristinKauffmanMatthew. 2019. “Digital Irreligion: Christian Deconversion in an Online Community.”Journal for the Scientific of Religion58(2):494–512. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12599.
UpenieksLauraHillTerrence D.AcevedoGabrielKoenigHarold G.2023. “‘Electronic Church’ 2.0: Are Virtual and In-Person Attendance Associated with Mental and Physical Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic?”Sociology of Religion84(3):292–323. https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/srac043.
35.
Wilkins-LaflammeSarah. 2022. “Digital Religion among US and Canadian Millennial Adults.”Review of Religious Research64(2):225–48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-021-00463-0.
