Social Brain Theory and the Size of Churches

I have recently become aware of an intriguing convergence between the Social Brain theory of Professor Robin Dunbar at Oxford, and the Congregation Size theory that has been developed largely in the USA.

Dunbar is best known for ‘Dunbar’s number’, 150, the number of people with whom we can maintain stable social relationships. However, Dunbar actually recognizes a series of numbers such as 5, 15, 50, 150, 500 etc. Each number represents a barrier. If you want to go beyond it, you need different bonding strategies that are more time-efficient, and the nature of your relationships changes.

Read Social Brain Theory and the Size of Churches in full on my website.