Anglican Identities

Anglican Identities draws together studies and profiles that sympathetically explore approaches to scripture, tradition, and authority that are very different--yet at the same time distinctively Anglican.

He describes the life and work of five leaders in the Anglican Church in Canada and the Episcopal Church in the United States who came of age in the late nineteenth century and served their religious communities until the mid-twentieth century. As clergy and educators they hoped to root the faith of modern Anglicans/Episcopalians in past traditions to provide a compelling spiritual purpose and identity for the present and the future. Their attempts to articulate a historical basis for Anglican unity and Christian ecumenism often had contradictory and even sectarian results. Modernity and the Dilemma of North American Anglican Identities, 1880-1950 offers historians and scholars of religion and culture in North America a comparative perspective and a new way to understand how a previous generation looked to the past to address the dilemmas of an uncertain present and future.

While the postmodern world we inhabit is highly fragmented, contested, and conflicted, we all have one thing in common: we are experiencing identity crises. Religious traditions are not immune to these crises, and orthodox Anglicans have been experiencing their own issues with identity since the 2003 consecration of an openly homosexual man. Orthodox Anglicans want to say who they are as both orthodox and Anglican, but they are also finding it difficult to articulate a clear and coherent identity, especially an Anglican one. This orthodox Anglican pursuit of a renewed sense of self in a complex and fragmented world is a microcosm of our postmodern context, and an examination of their quest holds enticing clues to our own urgent searches for meaning and identity. Think of this book as a kind of story: the story of a worldwide church who, when its identity was threatened, took counsel together to renew and revitalize its sense of self. In the process, it not only faced many dangers and difficulties but also learned much about who it was and who it wanted to be.

A collection of essays exploring the underlying issues facing the Anglican Communion and setting them in their historical context, including the roles of synods, bishops and primates; the ministry of the Archbishop of Canterbury; being in and out of communion; and, the significance of diocesan boundaries in an age of globalization.

While the postmodern world we inhabit is highly fragmented, contested, and conflicted, we all have one thing in common: we are experiencing identity crises. Religious traditions are not immune to these crises, and orthodox Anglicans have been experiencing their own issues with identity since the 2003 consecration of an openly homosexual man. Orthodox Anglicans want to say who they are as both orthodox and Anglican, but they are also finding it difficult to articulate a clear and coherent identity, especially an Anglican one. This orthodox Anglican pursuit of a renewed sense of self in a complex and fragmented world is a microcosm of our postmodern context, and an examination of their quest holds enticing clues to our own urgent searches for meaning and identity. Think of this book as a kind of story: the story of a worldwide church who, when its identity was threatened, took counsel together to renew and revitalize its sense of self. In the process, it not only faced many dangers and difficulties but also learned much about who it was and who it wanted to be.

Katerberg (history, Calvin College, Michigan) describes the life and work of five leaders of the Anglican Church in Canada and the Episcopal Church in the U.S. from the late-19th to the mid-20th century. He explores the ways in which these leaders used a shared religious language and theology to create a cultural framework offering a clear identity and purpose for the members of their communities. Coverage includes the relationship between evangelicalism, liberalism, and anglo-catholicism; the impact of modernity on Anglican traditions of spirituality; a comparison of Canadian and U.S. perspectives; and a critique of the secularization model in favor of a view of religion within the realms of modernity and competing cultural identities. c. Book News Inc.

Does Anglican worship have an identity? This rich collection of essays demonstrates a great diversity of conviction, styles, and perception of issuesfrom when children should be confirmed, through the status and future of the Eucharist, to the inculturation of liturgy within modern societies. From this rich tapestry emerges a common thread of deeply held identity that offers insight into the role of Anglicanism in todays and tomorrows world.

The Oxford History of Anglicanism is a major new and unprecedented international study of the identity and historical influence of one of the world's largest versions of Christianity. This global study of Anglicanism from the sixteenth century looks at how was Anglican identity constructed and contested at various periods since the sixteenth century; and what was its historical influence during the past six centuries. It explores not just the ecclesiastical and theological aspects of global Anglicanism, but also the political, social, economic, and cultural influences of this form of Christianity that has been historically significant in western culture, and a burgeoning force in non-western societies today. The chapters are written by international exports in their various historical fields which includes the most recent research in their areas, as well as original research. The series forms an invaluable reference for both scholars and interested non-specialists. Volume four of The Oxford History of Anglicanism explores Anglicanism examines the twentieth-century history of Anglicanism in North America, Britain and Ireland, and Australasia. A historiographical introduction provides insight into changing historical interpretation. The volume explores perspectives on secularization, decolonization, mission, and the theological identity of Anglicanism. It highlights the global communion's movement away from an Anglo-centric leadership and a British imperial legacy towards greater diversity and greater influence for the global south. Ten themed chapters open up complementary aspects of the history of Western Anglicanism, including theological development, social justice, women, human sexuality, ecumenical relations, mission and decolonization, war and peace, liturgical revision, sociological analysis, and the relationship of the church, state, and nationalism. A further section on institutional development looks at the history of communion-wide institutions in the twentieth century, and at changing ideas of Anglican identity. Later chapters survey the regional history of Western Anglicanism in three substantial chapters examining excessively Australia and New Zealand, North America, and the British Isles.