Parishes Under Pressure: The Church Of England In South Buckinghamshire 1913–1939 (original) (raw)
Secularisation, or the reducing social significance of religion in the twentieth century, has been widely researched in terms of “demand” factors, but less so on the “supply-side,” considering the contributory effects of the strategies and actions of religious organisations themselves. This article explores these strategies in a group of Anglican churches in South Buckinghamshire in the period leading up to the Second World War, as industrial and population development shifted proportionally to the southeast. This rapid growth and accompanying demographic change posed major challenges to the Church of England, subjecting the parish system to severe pressure. The availability, allocation, and suitability of clergy were a constant concern. The very basis of the Church of England’s “offer” to the average citizen — of being the established, national church, there for everyone — seemed under threat: in some places, there was simply no church to “belong” to. Money was in short supply — perhaps both a cause and a symptom of other problems. A general issue was how to reach young people, but a specific concern was the funding of church schools. More widely, the church seemed to be losing touch with the changing cultural and moral landscape in which it operated.
Related papers
When was secularization? Dating the decline of the British churches and locating its cause
British Journal of Sociology, 2010
Dating the decline of Christianity in Britain has a vital bearing on its explanation. Recent work by social historians has challenged the sociological view that secularization is due to long-term diffuse social processes by asserting that the churches remained stable and popular until the late 1950s and that the causes of decline lie in the social and cultural changes associated with the 1960s. We challenge this interpretation of the evidence. We also note that much of the decline of the churches is explained not by adult defection but by a failure to keep children in the faith. Given the importance of parental homogamy for the successful transmission of religious identity, the causes of decline in one generation may well lie in the experiences of the previous generation. We focus on the disruptive effects of the 1939–45 war on family formation and use survey data to argue for a staged model of decline that is compatible with the conventional gradual view of secularization.
Recognising Secularisation: The Church of England and Its Struggle for a Political Role (1960-1990)
Proceedings of the British Academy, 2020
For leaders of the Church of England, secularisation was such an obvious fact that it virtually became a self-fulfilling prophecy as it informed political and theological debates within the Church. This article shows how by adjusting to secularisation the Church demonstrated a remarkable degree of resilience and managed to remain an important national voice – at least until the end of the Thatcher era. Three factors were of particular relevance in this development: First, the use of old networks which gave the Church of England privileged access to the political establishment. Second, the professionalisation of its political structure that equipped the Church with expertise. Third, complex changes within the Anglican theological strands that were opened up for political and social issues. These elements enabled the Church to develop new political agendas that were able to substitute political and moral positions that had become obsolete in the era of secularisation.
The Open University, PhD thesis, 2013. , 2013
This thesis is an examination of five Anglican home-missionary organisations which operated in the Diocese of London in the latter half of the nineteenth century. These five organisations were all entirely dependant upon the financial support of the Anglican laity to provide their revenue. The main thrust of the thesis is an analysis of the finances of these home-missionary organisations. The initial four questions that this thesis examines are: how did the organisations raise money; who did they solicit support from; to what extent were the societies successful in soliciting financial support to carry out their aims; and did the funding revenue streams remain stable through the period? This is with the main purpose of evaluating the Anglican community’s support of these organisations during the period of study, in terms of who gave financial support and how this changed. Drawing on the wealth of material contained in the annual reports of the organisations chosen for this study, this thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of the subscriptions and donations and in doing so identifies an important shift in the gender-base of the laity’s support at the end of the period. In seeking to explain the loss of the male funder in the late nineteenth century, the thesis engages with the key wider themes of philanthropy and secularisation. The assumption of this thesis is that modern religious bodies have to function as economic agents, that they need steady sources of income, and have to have mechanisms to raise sufficient funds on an annual basis. It argues that the decline in financial support from the Anglican laity within the period was not a result of failing fundraising techniques of the organisations themselves. Instead, it was a symptom of a wider malaise. The thesis explores the ethos of giving in the latter half of the nineteenth century and argues that an important factor in the decline of giving was the waning of the teaching of the doctrine of Christian stewardship after its mid-century renaissance. It argues that the new generation of Christians born in the latter half of the nineteenth century did not have the same ethos of giving that their parents had held. In doing so, it concludes that this shift was a significant change in the ‘consequential dimension’ of religion, which is how people behave as a consequence of their faith.
2013
This thesis is an examination of five Anglican home-missionary organisations which operated in the Diocese of London in the latter half of the nineteenth century. These five organisations were all entirely dependant upon the financial support of the Anglican laity to provide their revenue. The main thrust of the thesis is an analysis of the finances of these home-missionary organisations. The initial four questions that this thesis examines are: how did the organisations raise money; who did they solicit support from; to what extent were the societies successful in soliciting financial support to carry out their aims; and did the funding revenue streams remain stable through the period? This is with the main purpose of evaluating the Anglican community's support of these organisations during the period of study, in terms of who gave financial support and how this changed. Drawing on the wealth of material contained in the annual reports of the organisations chosen for this study...
Philanthropy and the Funding of the Church of England, 1856-1914
2015
It is curious that an institution as large as the Church of England should have received so little attention from scholars of the modern period in respect of its funding mechanisms. This book examines how, within the context of the fluctuating financial streams available to the Church in the nineteenth century, the Church turned to the Anglican laity to fund its home missionary endeavours. In doing so, it examines the embryonic forms of home missionary activity created at the start of the nineteenth century and their gradual development into specific diocesan initiatives as part of the creation of the new ‘diocesan consciousness’. In conjunction with this development, the funding sources for church extension initiatives shifted from a national to a diocesan basis. The five Anglican home missionary organisations subject to this study were all entirely dependant upon the financial support of the Anglican laity to provide their revenue. The main thrust of this book is an analysis of the finances of these home-missionary organisations. The initial four questions that this research examines are: how did the organisations raise money; who did they solicit support from; to what extent were the societies successful in soliciting financial support to carry out their aims; and did the funding revenue streams remain stable through the period? This is with the main purpose of evaluating the Anglican community’s support of these organisations during the period of study, in terms of who gave financial support and how this changed. Drawing on the wealth of material contained in the annual reports of the organisations chosen for this study, this book provides a comprehensive analysis of the subscriptions lists and in doing so identifies an important shift in the gender-base of the laity’s support at the end of the period. In seeking to explain the loss of the male funder in the late nineteenth century, the book engages with the key wider themes of philanthropy and secularisation. The assumption made is that modern religious bodies have to function as economic agents, that they need steady sources of income, and have to have mechanisms to raise sufficient funds on an annual basis. The book argues that the decline in financial support from the Anglican laity within the period was not a result of failing fundraising techniques of the organisations themselves. Instead, it was a symptom of a wider malaise. The book explores the ethos of giving in the latter half of the nineteenth century and argues that an important factor in the decline of giving was the waning of the teaching of the doctrine of Christian stewardship after its mid-century renaissance. It argues that the new generation of Christians born in the latter half of the nineteenth century did not have the same ethos of giving that their parents had held. In doing so, it concludes that this shift was a significant change in the ‘consequential dimension’ of religion, which is how people behave as a consequence of their faith. The book is particularly rich in its use of new primary sources and its analytical output in the form of around 45 tables of financial data.
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.