Catholics In England 1950 2000

The year 2000 marks the 150th anniversary of the restoration of the Roman Catholic hierarchy of England and Wales, following the post-Reformation penal times. The centenary in 1950 was celebrated with much reflection, but what has happened in the momentous half-century since, which has witnessed the transformation of the Second Vatican Council? The book includes: Historical perspectives of the period; Testimonies by key participants in post-war institutional Catholicism, including the Papal Commission on Birth Control, World Congresses of the Laity in Rome and a variety of experiences in Catholic organizations and public life; Empirical studies of English Catholicism from sociological perspectives; Concluding reflections and prospects for the new millennium.

An examination of the religious, social and political context within which Roman Catholic public schools developed in England from around 1800 and considers their contemporary relevance and character.

In Catholic Progressives in England after Vatican II, Jay P. Corrin traces the evolution of Catholic social and theological thought from the end of World War II through the 1960s that culminated in Vatican Council II. He focuses on the emergence of reformist thinking as represented by the Council and the corresponding responses triggered by the Church's failure to expand the promises, or expectations, of reform to the satisfaction of Catholics on the political left, especially in Great Britain. The resistance of the Roman Curia, the clerical hierarchy, and many conservative lay men and women to reform was challenged in 1960s England by a cohort of young Catholic intellectuals for whom the Council had not gone far enough to achieve what they believed was the central message of the social gospels, namely, the creation of a community of humanistic socialism. This effort was spearheaded by members of the English Catholic New Left, who launched a path-breaking journal of ideas called Slant. What made Slant revolutionary was its success in developing a coherent philosophy of revolution based on a synthesis of the “New Theology” fueling Vatican II and the New Left’s Marxist critique of capitalism. Although the English Catholic New Left failed to meet their revolutionary objectives, their bold and imaginative efforts inspired many younger Catholics who had despaired of connecting their faith to contemporary social, political, and economic issues. Corrin’s analysis of the periodical and of such notable contributors as Terry Eagleton and Herbert McCabe explains the importance of Slant and its associated group within the context of twentieth-century English Catholic liberal thought and action.

Religion is of enduring importance in the lives of many people, yet the religious landscape has been dramatically transformed in recent decades. Established churches have been challenged by eastern faiths, revivals of Christian and Islamic fundamentalism, and the eclectic spiritualities of the New Age. Religion has long been regarded by social scientists and psychologists as a key source of identity formation, ranging from personal conversion experiences to collective association with fellow believers. This book addresses the need for a reassessment of issues relating to identity in the light of current transformations in society as a whole and religion in particular. Drawing together case-studies from many different expressions of faith and belief - Hindu, Muslim, Roman Catholic, Anglican, New Age - leading scholars ask how contemporary religions or spiritualities respond to the challenge of forming individual and collective identities in a nation context marked by secularisation and postmodern decentring of culture, as well as religious revitalisation. The book focuses on Britain as a context for religious change, but asks important questions that are of universal significance for those studying religion: How is personal and collective identity constructed in a world of multiple social and cultural influences? What role can religion play in creating, reinforcing or even transforming such identity?

Reveals through a study of how ordinary Catholics lived their faith that Roman Catholicism, and not just Protestantism, can be seen as part of the Evangelical spectrum of religious experience.

The fifth volume of The Oxford History of British & Irish Catholicism--covering the period from the Great War, through the Second World War and the Second Vatican Council--surveys the transformed ecclesial landscape between the papacies of Benedict XV and Pope Francis. It explores the efforts of bishops, priests and people in Ireland and Scotland, Wales and England to respond to modern challenges and reintegrate the experiences and expertise of the laity into the ministry of the Church. Alongside the twentieth century's designation as an era of technological innovation, war, peace, globalization, decolonization and liberation, this period has also been designated 'the People's Century'. Viewed through the lens of the Catholic church in Britain and Ireland, these same dynamics are explored within thematic, synoptic chapters by leading scholars. As a century characterized by the rise, or better renewal of the apostolate of the laity, this edited collection traces the struggles to reconcile tradition, re-evaluate hierarchical authority, adapt to social and educational mobility, as well as to adjudicate serious challenges from outside and within--including inflammatory biopolitics and clerical sexual abuse--to religious belief and the legitimacy of the Church as an institution.

The existence of state-supported Catholic and other faith-based schools in the UK has become a matter of controversy in recent years, as the previously tolerant acceptance of their role in the English educational system has come under attack. This book seeks to explain to both proponents and sceptics of religiously based educational provision how the maintained Catholic sector originated, what it seeks to do and its contribution to society. It describes the Church’s understanding of the primacy of parents in the education of their children and the limits of the state’s legitimate role. The book will be of value to anyone interested in understanding Catholic schools, those who send their children to them, and those who are working and teaching in them – or aspire to do so.

For the first time, this volume takes a global and comparative approach to the lived local history of Vatican II.