Explains how evangelical megachurches thrive by transforming mundane secular spaces into arenas of religious significance

In an era where church attendance has reached an all-time
low, recent polling has shown that Americans are becoming
less formally religious and more promiscuous in their religious
commitments. Within both mainline and evangelical
Christianity in America, it is common to hear of secularizing
pressures and increasing competition from nonreligious
sources. Yet there is a kind of religious institution that has
enjoyed great popularity over the past thirty years: the evangelical
megachurch. Evangelical megachurches not only
continue to grow in number, but also in cultural, political,
and economic influence. To appreciate their appeal is to
understand not only how they are innovating, but more crucially,
where their innovation is taking place.

In this groundbreaking and interdisciplinary study, Justin G.
Wilford argues that the success of the megachurch is hinged
upon its use of space: its location on the postsuburban fringe
of large cities, its fragmented, dispersed structure, and its
focus on individualized spaces of intimacy such as small
group meetings in homes, which help to interpret suburban
life as religiously meaningful and create a sense of belonging.
Based on original fieldwork at Rick Warren’s Saddleback
Church, one of the largest and most influential megachurches
in America, Sacred Subdivisions explains how evangelical
megachurches thrive by transforming mundane secular
spaces into arenas of religious significance.

"Sacred Subdivisions offers a much needed assessment of the attractiveness of megachurches within the postsuburban milieu. Wilford skillfully explains how places like Saddleback remain so attractive to those living in an era of socio-spatial fragmentation." - Religious Research Association Review

"[T]his is a very readable addition to the literature on megachurches and expands our understanding of their influences in American religious life." - Nova Religio

"Wilford does a great service by highlighting the role of the material and spatial configuration of large evangelical congregations and has simultaneously brought secularization debates into geography and important spatial theory into the sociology of religion." - Oxford University Press

"Sacred Subdivisionsis the first full-length treatment of the American megachurch phenomenon by a geographer, providing a compelling analysis of how the fragmented & post-suburban context shapes and challenges these large congregations. Author Justin G Wilford notes that of the largest 50 non-denominational (a characteristic that he sees as essential to these congregations) megachurches, all but six are situated on the residential fringe of metropolitan areas a percentage that only increased in the last decade. [Sacred Subdivisions] richly documents, the high degree of adaptability of megachurches (and the fact that there are highly successful ones located in major cities) suggests that they may be able to survive and thrive in landscapes far different than the ones in which they were planted." - Urban Studies

"Wilford writes clearly and makes complex issues quite accessible. Anthropologists of Christianity and contemporary American cities, especially, stand to benefit from the books major insights about the deep entanglements of evangelical religion, late modernity, and the cultural geography of postsuburbia." - Anthropological Quarterly

"Wilfords holistic reading of the evangelical landscape provides a new understanding of how megachurches have swept across suburban America." - Marginalia

"This book would be an excellent choice for graduate seminars and advanced undergraduate classes on religion or urban studies, in part because of its clear and multidisciplinary discussion of secularization and modernization debates." - Sacred Subdivisions

"[Sacred Subdivisions] richly documents, the high degree of adaptability of megachurches (and the fact that there are highly successful ones located in major cities) suggests that they may be able to survive and thrive in landscapes far different than the ones in which they were planted." - Urban Studies Journal