What first sparked your interest in the Chicago Congregations Project?
As a pre-law History and Honors Sociology student and Chicagoland native, I have often found my academic interests are shaped by my urban ecology. The Chicago Congregations Project (CCP) mission of understanding the role of religious congregations and their influence in Chicago neighborhoods, namely, the focus on leadership structures, community engagement, social service programs, political activity, organizational connections, and membership demographics, further incited my interest in the intersection of place throughout all time and space. Canvasing Chicago’s 77 Community Areas, the Chicago Congregations Project’s focus on representation of all congregations without distinction to neighborhood, reaffirmed the significance of the CCP. The Chicago Congregations Project sought to collect information that will be used to better inform congregations how to bridge social welfare in their local communities, highlighting the CCP’s emphasis on people-centered research, and compelling me to join in the mission of serving the common good.
What tasks did you perform as a research assistant?
As a research assistant, my primary tasks included conducting online interviews with congregations throughout the 77 Chicago Community Areas, administering surveys, constructing profiles, and compiling data. Over the summer of 2025, I continued my work as a research assistant, and coded congregations’ social media posts for themes of religiosity, conducted literature reviews, and investigated the congregation websites to construct congregation profiles. At the 2025 Association for the Sociology of Religion conference, in Chicago, Illinois, I participated in the Chicago Congregations Project Symposium and presented on the panel, “Reporting from the Field: Challenges and Solutions,” where I shared my perspectives on preparing to make a round of calls, building rapport with congregations, managing data collection on the ground through a systemic process, as well as navigating the idiosyncrasies of the contemporary historical moment in American society.
What have you learned through your participation in this project?
Through the Chicago Congregations process, I have learned the value of bearing the dual role of research assistant and relationship builder. That is, by having contact with congregations, I exercised interpersonal skills, conscientious communication, and clarity and consistency which underpins the mechanics of research. In this role, I have learned how to balance warmth and hospitality with the sharpness of an academic, granting me the opportunity to reconcile disembodied academic research with the real and tangible lives of everyday people. The CCP has inspired in me a more ardent passion for research in the social sciences and for the people whom it serves.
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