Church Directory Data Available for Scholars

The December 2018 update to Carl Royster’s Churches of Christ in the United States is available on both workstations in the Scholars Lab and on one in the Stanley Reading Room.

Doug Foster, professor and church history scholar at ACU, shared with us his thoughts on the academic value of the information that comes from this software. “The database covers nearly three decades of information concerning local congregations of Churches of Christ in the United States and is the beginning place to track changes of all kinds at the national, state, and congregational levels. The data provides researchers with other information, including congregational character, the appearance of new churches, and the disappearance of others.”

The database provides information about each church and provides many filters differentiating types and practices of congregations within the Churches of Christ for comparisons, making it a valuable tool for church historians and scholars.