This book is essential reading for anyone interested in modern Anglican church life or what may be its future.

Richard J. Mammana, is the archivist of the Living Church Foundation, The Living Church

[Abby Day] presents an outstanding ethnography of the dwindling generation of laywomen, now mostly in their eighties or nineties, whose unobtrusive devotion to the Anglican/Episcopal tradition has kept parish churches serviced and surviving ... Day avoids sentimentality, but conveys a sense of loss. Her findings add to the headaches that trouble the Church of England's current leaders.

Jonathan Benthall, Times Literary Supplement

Abby Day gives empathic visibility to the under-appreciated generation of older lay women whose heart and spirit have sustained Anglicanism amid the sweep of institutional and societal change.

Michele Dillon, University of New Hampshire, Author (with Paul Wink) of In the Course of a Lifetime: Tracing Religious Belief, Practice, and Change

The Religious Lives of Older Laywomen draws on ethnographic fieldwork, cross-cultural comparisons, and relevant theories exploring the beliefs, identities, and practices of 'Generation A'--Anglican laywomen born in the 1920s and 1930s. Now in their 70s, 80s, and 90s, they are often described as the 'backbone' of the Church and likely its final active generation. The prevalence of laywomen in mainstream Christian congregations is a widely accepted phenomenon that will cause little surprise amongst the research community or Christian adherents. What is surprising is that we know so little about them. Generation A laywomen have remained largely invisible in previous work on institutional religion in Euro-American countries, particularly as the focus on religion and gender has turned to youth, sexuality, and priesthood. Female Christian Generation A is on the cusp of a catastrophic decline in mainstream Christianity that accelerated during the 'post-war' (post-1945) age. The age profile of mainstream Christianity represents an increasingly aging pattern, with Generation A not being replaced by their children or grandchildren--the Baby-Boomers and generations X, Y, and Z. Generation A is irreplaceable and unique. 'Generation' shares specific values, beliefs, behaviours, and orientations, therefore, when this generation finally disappears within the next five to 10 years, their knowledge, insights, and experiences will be lost forever. Abby Day both documents and interprets their religious lives and what we can learn about them and more widely, about contemporary Christianity and its future.
Les mer
A study of the generation of mainstream Christian laywomen born in the 1920s and 1930s ('Generation A').
SECTION I: ROOTS AND BRANCHES; SECTION II: HOLY WOMEN; SECTION II: TIES THAT BIND: THE PEW OF POWER OF GENERATION A
Provides a detailed record of a vanishing people (Generation A) through ethnographic fieldwork situated historically and socially. Offers insights and theory into why the women engage in a particular mode of religious practice. Reflects on the consequences of their loss in both religious and secular domains. Challenges, revises, and introduces theories related to religiosity, women, and generations.
Les mer
Abby Day is Reader of Race, Faith, & Culture in the Department of Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Provides a detailed record of a vanishing people (Generation A) through ethnographic fieldwork situated historically and socially. Offers insights and theory into why the women engage in a particular mode of religious practice. Reflects on the consequences of their loss in both religious and secular domains. Challenges, revises, and introduces theories related to religiosity, women, and generations.
Les mer

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780198739586
Publisert
2017
Utgiver
Vendor
Oxford University Press
Vekt
428 gr
Høyde
223 mm
Bredde
142 mm
Dybde
22 mm
Aldersnivå
U, P, 05, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
270

Forfatter

Om bidragsyterne

Abby Day is Reader of Race, Faith, & Culture in the Department of Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London.