Examining Sense of Community among Hispanic Catholic Parishes by Economic Status, Location-Site, and Family Size. Issue 4 (2nd October 2018) - Ferrari, Joseph R.
Abstract: In the present study, Roman Catholic deacons at one of the 216 Hispanic parishes across the U.S. reported on their parish sense of community ( P-SOC ), using the SCI-2, within the congregation. P-SOC was assessed among socioeconomic status of lower/working class ( n = 109) or middle class ( n = 107) Latino parishes, located in either an urban ( n = 152) or urban cluster ( n = 64) site, with the number of families within the parish to reflect a tiny ( n = 76), small ( n = 46), moderate ( n = 38), or large ( n = 54) size. A 2 × 2 × 4 MANOVA on four P-SOC sub-scale scores found no significant main or interaction effect for status, site, or size. It appears per public perception that a sense of connectedness and closeness exists in the Hispanic parishes that are poor, urban, and large congregations is a myth at best.