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Growth or decline in the Church of England during the decade of Evangelism: did the Churchmanship of the Bishop matter?

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Francis, Leslie J. and Roberts, C. (Carol). (2009) Growth or decline in the Church of England during the decade of Evangelism: did the Churchmanship of the Bishop matter? Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol.24 (No.1). pp. 67-81. ISSN 1353-7903

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Abstract

The Decade of Evangelism occupied the attention of the Church of England throughout the 1990s. The present study employs the statistics routinely published by the Church of England in order to assess two matters: the extent to which these statistics suggest that the 43 individual dioceses finished the decade in a stronger or weaker position than they had entered it and the extent to which, according to these statistics, the performance of dioceses led by bishops shaped in the Evangelical tradition differed from the performance of dioceses led by bishops shaped in the Catholic tradition. The data demonstrated that the majority of dioceses were performing less effectively at the end of the decade than at the beginning, in terms of a range of membership statistics, and that the rate of decline varied considerably from one diocese to another. The only exception to the trend was provided by the diocese of London, which experienced some growth. The data also demonstrated that little depended on the churchmanship of the diocesan bishop in shaping diocesan outcomes on the performance indicators employed in the study.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BR Christianity
Divisions: Faculty of Social Sciences > Institute of Education ( -2013)
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Evangelistic work -- Church of England, Church of England -- Government, Church of England -- Bishops, Church of England -- Membership
Journal or Publication Title: Journal of Contemporary Religion
Publisher: Routledge
ISSN: 1353-7903
Official Date: January 2009
Volume: Vol.24
Number: No.1
Page Range: pp. 67-81
Identification Number: 10.1080/13537900802630513
Status: Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access
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URI: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/2877

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