Sociologist and ‘Bowling Alone’ Author Robert Putnam

“The mountain bikers for God, the geeks for God, the small group for people who have breast cancer or whose spouses have breast cancer,” Putnam says. “In the context of a very big organization, everybody feels connected to some very small group. If someone is sick, they’ll bring them chicken soup. … In some sense, they’re replacing the Kiwanis.”

-Sociologist and ‘Bowling Alone’ author Robert Putnam, discussing how megachurches have created social connections through various internal small groups. He was quoted by USA Today.