The peak of possibility thinking: Robert H. Schuller's Crystal Cathedral in Orange County, California during the 1980s
| atmire.migration.oldid | 241 | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Spangler, Jewel | |
| dc.contributor.author | Adams, Courtenay | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2012-08-31T15:43:17Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2012-11-13T08:01:24Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2012-08-31 | |
| dc.date.submitted | 2012 | en |
| dc.description.abstract | In 1955, Robert Schuller planted a church at a drive-in theatre in Orange County, California. Within decades, church membership multiplied many times over. Schuller became famous for his televised ministry, theology on self-esteem, and glass and steel church building, the Crystal Cathedral. Now, in 2012, the Crystal Cathedral Ministries has come apart. While commentators blame recent economic and familial troubles for the church’s downfall, this thesis argues that understanding decline first requires understanding success. Looking at the 1980s, the church’s peak era, it suggests that Schuller was in tune with the times, catering to a suburbanized society that was thirsty for therapy and fascinated with celebrity culture. The thrust of this thesis is not to negate the importance of recent struggles, but rather to take success with failure, fleshing out the story of the Crystal Cathedral while also giving new texture to the historiographical record on church growth and decline. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Adams, C. (2012). The peak of possibility thinking: Robert H. Schuller's Crystal Cathedral in Orange County, California during the 1980s (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/28268 | en_US |
| dc.identifier.doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/28268 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11023/168 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Graduate Studies | |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Calgary | en |
| dc.publisher.place | Calgary | en |
| dc.rights | University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. | |
| dc.subject | History--United States | |
| dc.subject.classification | schuller | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | crystal cathedral | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | orange county | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | 1980s | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | megachurch | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | possibility thinking | en_US |
| dc.title | The peak of possibility thinking: Robert H. Schuller's Crystal Cathedral in Orange County, California during the 1980s | |
| dc.type | master thesis | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | History | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Calgary | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Arts (MA) | |
| ucalgary.item.requestcopy | true |