Contemporary Christianity

Postmodern Christianity: Rhetoric of Transformation within a Hypermodern Reality and the Religious Buffet

by James C. Vlisides

Introduction to "Christianismes en Océanie - Changing Christianity in Oceania"

by Yannick Fer

Introduction to the Archives de sciences sociales des religions n° 157, special issue "Christianismes en Océanie - Changing Christianity in Oceania", 2012. (p. 9-12)

For further details (including the abstracts of the articles), see: http://yannickfer.hautetfort.com/archive/2012/04/09/christianismes-en-oceanie-changing-christianity-in-oceania-p.html

Table of content : Christianismes en Océanie / Changing Christianity in Oceania

Dossier coordonné par... more Table of content : Christianismes en Océanie / Changing Christianity in Oceania

Dossier coordonné par Yannick Fer

Yannick FER – Introduction, présentation
Simon COLEMAN – Christianities in Oceania: "Historical Genealogies and Anthropological Insularities"
Manfred ERNST – Changing Christianity in Oceania: a regional overview
Yannick FER – Le protestantisme polynésien, de l’église locale aux réseaux évangéliques
John BARKER – Secondary conversion and the anthropology of Christianity in Melanesia
Jacqueline RYLE – Burying the Past–Healing the land: Ritualising Reconciliation in Fiji
Joel ROBBINS – Spirit Women, Church Women, and Passenger Women: Christianity, Gender, and Cultural Change in Melanesia
Gwendoline MALOGNE-FER – Les protestantismes polynésiens à l’épreuve du genre. L’exemple de l’église presbytérienne de Nouvelle-Zélande
Gilles VIDAL – La contextualisation de la théologie protestante comme lieu de changement du christianisme en Océanie

The Limits of Taste: Politics, Aesthetics, and Christ in Contemporary Australia

by Zoe Alderton

Nick Cave: From an Anglican God to the Creative Christ

by Zoe Alderton

"Reconceiving the Congregation as a Source of Authenticity"

by Mathew Guest

In Garnet, J. et al (eds) Redefining Christian Britain: Post-1945 Perspectives, London: SCM, 2007, pp. 63-72.

This chapter focuses on the different forms and functions which Christian congregations in Britain have adopted in... more This chapter focuses on the different forms and functions which Christian congregations in Britain have adopted in recent years, faced with a cultural context characterised by a fragmentation of local communities and the elevation of consumerist values. In deliberate contrast to visions of post-Christian Britain which emphasise secularisation and the inexorable breakdown of tradition, the intention here is to highlight creative processes of reconfiguration which illustrate the capacity of Christian collectives to adapt to cultural change. Alternative forms of Christian community are then explored through the examples of cell churches, parachurches and web-based communities.

Evangelicalism and Capitalism in Transatlantic Context

by Mathew Guest

Politics and Religion, vol. 4, no. 2, Autumn 2010, pp. 257-279

This article is a critical engagement with political scientist William Connolly’s book Christianity and Capitalism:... more This article is a critical engagement with political scientist William Connolly’s book Christianity and Capitalism: American Style. Connolly’s analysis of the ways in which evangelical Christianity and capitalist agendas interrelate in the US context is outlined and critiqued in terms of its tendency to homogenise the US evangelical movement and overstate its incorporation of right wing political interests. Its theoretical framework is also critiqued, but developed in light of its potential to generate insights into the global context of evangelical influence, including as a vehicle for capitalist values. This is explored in terms of US influence upon British evangelicalism and what this reveals about the circulation of evangelical-capitalist ideas within a transatlantic context. A case study is offered of the Willow Creek sponsored Global Leadership Summit by way of illustration.

Alternative Worship: Challenging the Boundaries of the Christian Faith

by Mathew Guest

pp. 35-56 in Elisabeth Arweck and Martin Stringer (eds) Theorizing Faith: The Insider/Outsider Problem in the Study of Ritual (Birmingham: University of Birmingham Press, 2002)

The post-evangelical emerging church: Innovations in New Zealand and the UK

by Mathew Guest

Co-authored with Steve Taylor. International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church, Volume 6, Issue 1, March 2006 , pp. 49 - 64

This article explores new religious groups who build a distinctive vision of the 'emerging church' by drawing from a... more This article explores new religious groups who build a distinctive vision of the 'emerging church' by drawing from a post-evangelical perspective. Specifically, we explore the ways in which two groups (a Baptist church in Auckland, New Zealand, and a group attached to a Church of England parish in York, UK) re-imagine church and reflexively reconfigure ideas of Christian religion, in light of their embrace of a 'post-modern' view of the world. Throughout, the focus remains on the question of how religious groups, which self-consciously embrace a post-modern worldview - emphasising detraditionalisation and individualism - sustain durable Christian communities.

In Search of Spiritual Capital: The Spiritual As a Cultural Resource

by Mathew Guest

pp. 181-200 in Kieran Flanagan & Peter Jupp (eds) A Sociology of Spirituality (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007)

This chapter addresses contemporary debates about the decline of religion and rise of spirituality through the concept... more This chapter addresses contemporary debates about the decline of religion and rise of spirituality through the concept of spiritual capital. It offers a review of the literature on ‘capital’ theory, leading up to Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology, which serves as a basis for a critical theorisation of spiritual capital. The capacity of spiritual capital to illuminate issues of power and the politics of identity is illustrated via a case study of Anglican clergy and their influence upon their children’s values and religious identities.

The Plausibility of Creationism: A Sociological Comment

by Mathew Guest

pp. 217-236 in S. Barton. & D. Wilkinson (eds) Reading Genesis After Darwin (New York: OUP, 2009).

Building on debates in the sociology of knowledge, this chapter explores how the recent popularity of creationist... more Building on debates in the sociology of knowledge, this chapter explores how the recent popularity of creationist ideas within contemporary western cultures may be explained with reference to social structural changes. A brief history of creationism within the twentieth century is followed by a discussion of how and why the claims associated with creationism are viewed as plausible by those who affirm them. 

Socialisation and Spiritual Capital: What Difference Do Clergy Families Make?

by Mathew Guest

pp. 175-180 in Sylvia Collins-Mayo and Pink Dandelion (eds) Religion and Youth (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2010)

This paper asks what the case of clerical families might teach us about the form and status of religion within present... more This paper asks what the case of clerical families might teach us about the form and status of religion within present day Britain. The broad aim is to reflect on how religious ideas and values are negotiated within a family context: how they are learnt, transmitted, developed and challenged. Comments will build on an extensive empirical study of senior Anglican clergymen and their families, and draw from
wider sociological debates about religion as a form of capital in making sense of processes of identity formation.

Congregational Studies: Taking Stock

by Mathew Guest

Co-authored with Linda Woodhead and Karin Tusting. pp. 1-23 of Congregational Studies in the UK: Christianity in a Post-Christian Context ed. by Mathew Guest, Karin Tusting and Linda Woodhead (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2004)

This chapter charts the development of congregational studies  - analyses of local Christian congregations - in... more This chapter charts the development of congregational studies  - analyses of local Christian congregations - in the UK from the 1950s onwards. It draws comparisons with similar studies in the USA, and offers insights into how the evolution of dominant approaches and perspectives has been shaped by changes in the wider cultural climate.

Piercing the Veil of Language: How to Achieve Intuitive Knowledge in Meditative Reading, Part II

by Bill Trusiewicz

Piercing the Veil of Language: How to Achieve Intuitive Knowledge in Meditative Reading, Part II, is the second of two articles published in "Starlight" the newsletter of the Sophia Foundation of North America, Spring 2009, Vol. 9, No. 1

This second of two articles appearing in The Sophia Foundation of North America newsletter, "Starlight"... more This second of two articles appearing in The Sophia Foundation of North America newsletter, "Starlight" seeks to lead the reader on an inner path of knowledge, beyond the pale of ordinary analytical and discursive thinking, to an experience of the spirit behind words, sometimes called the "thing in itself." The author takes the reader on a journey into the "poetry" of language, in which one is confronted with a complexity and depth that is unfathomable compared to everyday "reality," and, if we are equal to it--challenges us to achieve a higher perception--an intuitive knowledge.

Male Headship as Male Agency: An Alternative Understanding of a ‘Patriarchal’ African Pentecostal Discourse on Masculinity

by Adriaan van Klinken

Published in Religion and Gender vol. 1, no. 1 (2011), 104-124

In some Christian circles in Africa, male headship is a defining notion of masculinity. The central question in this... more In some Christian circles in Africa, male headship is a defining notion of masculinity. The central question in this article is how discourses on masculinity that affirm male headship can be understood. A review of recent scholarship on masculinities and religion shows that male headship is often interpreted in terms of male dominance. However, a case study of sermons in a Zambian Pentecostal church shows that discourse on male headship can be far more complex and can even contribute to a transformation of masculinities. The main argument is that a monolithic concept of patriarchy hinders a nuanced analysis of the meaning and function of male headship in local contexts. The suggestion is that in some contexts male headship can be understood in terms of agency.

Baracknophobia and the Paranoid Style: Visions of Obama as the Antichrist on the World Wide Web

by Amarnath Amarasingam

In Robert Glenn Howard, ed. Network Apocalypse: Visions of the End in an Age of Internet Media (Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2011): 96-123.

This chapter explores the belief among certain subsets of the US population that Obama is the Antichrist depicted as... more This chapter explores the belief among certain subsets of the US population that Obama is the Antichrist depicted as setting the stage for the end of the world. First, I examine the apocalyptic fears and conspiracies surrounding the presidency of Barack Obama, placing it in historical and religious perspective. Second, I investigate how expressions of apocalypticism and conspiracism surrounding Obama manifest themselves on the Internet.

Review: Getting Saved in America: Taiwanese Immigration and Religious Experience by Carolyn Chen

by Huaiyu Chen

32. Review. Carolyn Chen, Getting Saved in America: Taiwanese Immigration and Religious Experience. In: Journal of Law and Religion vol. 25: 1 (2009), pp. 101-106.

Vanity v. Gluttony: Competing Christian Discourses on Exercise and Weight Management

by Jenn Anderson

Anderson, J. (2011). Vanity v. Gluttony: Competing Christian Discourses on Exercise and Weight Management. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 39 (4), p. 370-388. doi:10.1080/00909882.2011.608699

Note: This paper was featured in the Institute for the Biocultural Study of Religion's (IBSCR) November 2011 Review of Research. The review features a digest of cutting-edge research on religion, brain, and behavior. The IBSCR website can be accessed here: www.scienceonreligion.org

Three focus groups with adult Christians explored the ways that Christians give religious meaning to their physical... more Three focus groups with adult Christians explored the ways that Christians give religious meaning to their physical health experiences through communication. Participants described their thoughts on the link between faith and health and expressed their personal values through that talk. Christians spoke about the connection between faith and health in terms of both personal beliefs and interpersonal interactions. Personal beliefs were characterized by a sense that God calls a Christian to be healthy, and that a response to this call—particularly through exercise—can demonstrate personal values of obedience and self-discipline. Interpersonally, failure to respond to this call and express these values was addressed through personal confession or confrontation of others. Discursive tensions arose throughout the discourse concerning how to discern the spiritual motives and/or character of a person given their health behaviors or physical appearance. Given these meaning-making sensibilities, implications for tailored health communication messaging are discussed.

Increasing the Salience of the Value-Expressive Function of Attitudes toward Exercise among Christians

by Jenn Anderson

This paper will be presented at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association

The present paper argues for functional theory to be extended so that communicative behavior takes central stage. The... more The present paper argues for functional theory to be extended so that communicative behavior takes central stage. The paper is specifically focused on the value-expressive function of attitudes, and the potential for such a function to be shared through communication. Previous work with this function has focused on its cognitive aspects, but in the current paper, value-expressiveness is conceptualized as the communication of values through the expression of attitudes. This paper presents this new conceptualization of value-expressiveness and uses Christians’ attitudes toward exercise as a case study for examining potentially value-expressive health-related communication.

The Creative Kingdom and the Kingdoms of Men: A Challenge to the Church

by Thomas Whitehouse

Presented at the "Festival de Verano" (Summer Festival), First Reformational Congress, Mexico City, Mexico, in July 2011.

Why I am an atheist.

by Rob El