Disciplines
Other Anthropology | Social and Cultural Anthropology
Abstract (300 words maximum)
This paper aims to assess the history of the Cathedral of Christ the King, a Catholic church in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, in terms of diversity. The main goal of this paper is to investigate the diversity of the church congregation in terms of race, while also focusing to a lesser extent on socioeconomic background and age. The area the church is in is primarily composed of upper-middle-class white families and it was through this observation that I came upon this topic. To investigate this issue, the first method used was spot sampling and constant monitoring of the congregation at two unique masses (an average Sunday mass and a Stations of the Cross mass). The church is laid out in quadrants of 15 rows each; I observed an entire quadrant by sitting in a pew across from my observed area and observed the two people closest to the isle on every third row for five minutes each. The next method used was interviewing (n=8) regular parishioners and experts which consisted of priests, long-time volunteers, and associates. The people who consented to an interview were found using snowball sampling while using judgment sampling for specific people who were knowledgeable in areas relating to the study. The interviewees were interviewed in a structured fashion with two separate questionnaires: one made specifically for parishioners and another for experts. The KWIC method of thematic analysis was used to code the interviews which were done through NVIVO. Memoing was used to analyze observations taken.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - Geography & Anthropology
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Dr. Brandon Lundy
A Look into the History of Racial Diversity in the Congregation of the Cathedral of Christ the King
This paper aims to assess the history of the Cathedral of Christ the King, a Catholic church in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, in terms of diversity. The main goal of this paper is to investigate the diversity of the church congregation in terms of race, while also focusing to a lesser extent on socioeconomic background and age. The area the church is in is primarily composed of upper-middle-class white families and it was through this observation that I came upon this topic. To investigate this issue, the first method used was spot sampling and constant monitoring of the congregation at two unique masses (an average Sunday mass and a Stations of the Cross mass). The church is laid out in quadrants of 15 rows each; I observed an entire quadrant by sitting in a pew across from my observed area and observed the two people closest to the isle on every third row for five minutes each. The next method used was interviewing (n=8) regular parishioners and experts which consisted of priests, long-time volunteers, and associates. The people who consented to an interview were found using snowball sampling while using judgment sampling for specific people who were knowledgeable in areas relating to the study. The interviewees were interviewed in a structured fashion with two separate questionnaires: one made specifically for parishioners and another for experts. The KWIC method of thematic analysis was used to code the interviews which were done through NVIVO. Memoing was used to analyze observations taken.