discipleship | mission | practical theology

Next week, trains permitting, I am presenting my first academic paper that relates to my PhD research.  The Conference is the British Sociological Association: Sociology of Religion Study Group gathering in Edinburgh.  The proposal is below and the full paper should appear as a pdf attachment below.

‘The Changing face of Christianity in the 21st Century”

The BSA Sociology of Religion Study Group Conference
6-8 April 2010 University of Edinburgh

Liquid Faith: looking for anchorages in 21st century cultures

Given the rapid changes in C21st Christianity, counting membership and observing new forms and hybridisations capture only part of the picture.  There is a strong historic approach by which to define Christianity, which represents a break from the more institutional language and categories used to trace changes in religious groups. One that is grounded in the practical and in the everyday relationships that a Christian lives within: with the Divine, with the community of believers and with those outside the faith [Charry 1999].  This relational approach focuses on these unique social bonds within the Christian worldview.

Taking a lead from work by Gordon Lynch [2002, 2003] and early experiences in the field within evangelical communities suggest that Bauman’s [2000 - 2008] Liquid metaphor offers a significant key to understanding the changing nature of these social bonds.  Focusing on these unique social bonds, this paper will allow Bauman to draw out how the Christian experience has become increasingly individualised, how much poorer it is as a result of the loss of it’s own public vocabulary and how individuals cope with that responsibility.  The results will be a much richer understanding of declining numbers and new forms within contemporary Christianity.