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The Oxford Handbook of the Epistemology of Theology (Oxford Handbooks)
The Oxford Handbook of the Epistemology of Theology brings together leading scholars in the fields of theology and epistemology to examine and articulate what can be categorized as appropriate epistemic evaluation in theology. Part one focuses on some of the epistemic concepts that have been traditionally employed in theology such as knowledge of God, revelation and scripture, reason and faith, experience, and tradition. This section also considers concepts that have not received sufficient epistemological attention in theology, such as saints, authority, ecclesial practices, spiritual formation, and discernment. Part two concentrates on epistemic concepts that have received significant attention in contemporary epistemology and can be related to theology such as understanding, wisdom, testimony, virtue, evidence, foundationalism, realism/antirealism, scepticism, and disagreement. Part three offers examples from key figures in the Christian tradition and investigates the relevant epistemological issues and insights in these writers, as well as recognizing the challenges of connecting insights from contemporary epistemology with the subject of theology proper, namely, God. Part four centres on five emerging areas that warrant further epistemological consideration: liberation theology, continental philosophy, modern orthodox writers, feminism, and Pentecostalism. This authoritative collection explores how the various topics, figures, and emerging conversations can be reconceived and addressed in light of recent developments in epistemology. Each chapter provides an analysis of the crucial moves, positions, and debates, while also identifying relevant epistemic considerations. This handbook fulfils the need for the development of this new conversation that will take its natural place in the intersection of theology and epistemology. It links the fields of theology and epistemology in robust, meaningful, and significant ways.
The Oxford Handbook of the Historical Books of the Hebrew Bible (Oxford Handbooks)
The Oxford Handbook of Historical Books of the Hebrew Bible is a collection of essays that provide resources for the interpretation of the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. The volume is not exhaustive in its coverage, but examines interpretive aspects of these books that are deemed essential for interpretation or that are representative of significant trends in present and future scholarship. The individual essays are united by their focus on two guiding questions: (1) What does this topic have to do with the Old Testament Historical Books? and (2) How does this topic help readers better interpret the Old Testament Historical Books? Each essay critically surveys prior scholarship before presenting current and prospective approaches. Taking into account the ongoing debates concerning the relationship between the Old Testament texts and historical events in the ancient world, data from Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian culture and history are used to provide a larger context for the content of the Historical Books. Essays consider specific issues related to Israelite/Judean history (settlement, state formation, monarchy, forced migration, and return) as they relate to the interpretation of the Historical Books. This volume also explores the specific themes, concepts, and content that are most essential for interpreting these books. In light of the diverse material included in this section of the Old Testament, the Handbook further examines interpretive strategies that employ various redactional, synthetic, and theory-based approaches. Beyond the Old Testament proper, subsequent texts, traditions, and cultures often received and interpreted the material in the Historical Books, and so the volume concludes by investigating the literary, social, and theological aspects of that reception.
The Oxford Handbook of the Jesuits (Oxford Handbooks)
Through its missionary, pedagogical, and scientific accomplishments, the Society of Jesus-known as the Jesuits-became one of the first institutions with a truly "global" reach, in practice and intention. The Oxford Handbook of the Jesuits offers a critical assessment of the Order, helping to chart new directions for research at a time when there is renewed interest in Jesuit studies. In particular, the Handbook examines their resilient dynamism and innovative spirit, grounded in Catholic theology and Christian spirituality, but also profoundly rooted in society and cultural institutions. It also explores Jesuit contributions to education, the arts, politics, and theology, among others. The volume is organized in seven major sections, totaling forty articles, on the Order's foundation and administration, the theological underpinnings of its activities, the Jesuit involvement with secular culture, missiology, the Order's contributions to the arts and sciences, the suppression the Order endured in the 18th century, and finally, the restoration. The volume also looks at the way the Jesuit Order is changing, including becoming more non-European and ethnically diverse, with its members increasingly interested in engaging society in addition to traditional pastoral duties.
The Oxford Handbook of the Latin Bible (OXFORD HANDBOOKS SERIES)
The Latin Bible stands at the heart of Western culture. For almost fifteen hundred years, it was the principal source for scholars, philosophers, and theologians to reflect on the ideas and narratives which shaped society in Europe and beyond. It continues to feature in Christian liturgy, music, and art, and has influenced both Latin and vernacular language and literature. Manuscripts of the Latin Bible showcase the artistic and technical achievements of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and it was the first book to be produced with Gutenberg's printing press. Biblical interpretation played a central role in education, from sermons in antiquity to medieval schools and the development of the university. The Oxford Handbook of the Latin Bible contains thirty-one chapters covering the history of the Latin Bible from its earliest translations (the Vetus Latina), the revisions by Jerome and others leading to the Vulgate, the achievements and innovations of the Carolingian period and Middle Ages, the development of modern scholarship, and the twentieth-century innovation of the Nova Vulgata. It includes discussions of key figures and interpreters, the most important manuscripts, and the significance of the Latin Bible in multiple fields. The international team of contributors includes many of the world's leading authorities, along with representatives of a new generation of researchers developing new approaches and insights into this rich and diverse material. Each chapter introduces the current state of scholarship, with extensive references to key literature and electronic resources. This volume provides a unique overview of one of the world's most important books.
The Oxford Handbook of the Minor Prophets (Oxford Handbooks)
The Oxford Handbook of the Minor Prophets provides a clear and engaging one-volume guide to the major interpretative questions currently engaging scholars of the twelve Minor Prophets by collecting 40 essays by both established and emerging scholars who explore a wide range of methodological perspectives. Divided into four sections, the first group of essays is devoted to historical studies which consider the manuscript evidence for these books and overview debates about how, when, and by whom they were composed. Essays dealing with literary explorations consider the genres and rhetorical style of the material, key themes, and intertextual connections with other sections of the Jewish and Christian canons. A large section on the history of interpretation traces the ways in which past and present confessional communities, scholars, and artists have understood the Minor Prophets. In the final section, essays on individual books of the twelve Minor Prophets explore the structure, themes, and contested issues of each book.
The Oxford Handbook of the Oxford Movement (Oxford Handbooks)
The Oxford Handbook of the Oxford Movement reflects the rich and diverse nature of scholarship on the Oxford Movement and provides pointers to further study and new lines of enquiry. Part I considers the origins and historical context of the Oxford Movement. These chapters include studies of the legacy of the seventeenth-century 'Caroline Divines' and of the nature and influence of the eighteenth and early nineteenth-century High Church movement within the Church of England. Part II focuses on the beginnings and early years of the Oxford Movement, paying particular attention to the people, the distinctive Oxford context, and the ecclesiastical controversies that inspired the birth of the Movement and its early intellectual and religious expressions. In Part III the theme shifts from early history of the Oxford Movement to its distinctive theological developments. This section analyses Tractarian views of religious knowledge and the notion of 'ethos'; the distinctive Tractarian views of tradition and development; and Tractarian ecclesiology, including ideas of the via media and the 'branch theory' of the Church. The years of crisis for the Oxford Movement between 1841 and 1845, including John Henry Newman's departure from the Church of England, are covered in Part IV. Part V then proceeds to a consideration of the broader cultural expressions and influences of the Oxford Movement. Part VI focuses on the world outside England and examines the profound impact of the Oxford Movement on Churches beyond the English heartland, as well as on the formation of a world-wide Anglicanism. In Part VII, the contributors show how the Oxford Movement remained a vital force in the twentieth century, finding expression in the Anglo-Catholic Congresses and in the Prayer Book Controversy of the 1920s within the Church of England. The Handbook draws to a close, in Part VIII, with a set of more generalised reflections on the impact of the Oxford Movement, including chapters on the judgement of the converts to Roman Catholicism over the Movement's loss of its original character, on the spiritual life and efforts of those who remained within the Anglican Church to keep Tractarian ideas alive, on the engagement of the Movement with Liberal Protestantism and Liberal Catholicism, and on the often contentious historiography of the Oxford Movement which continued to be a source of church party division as late as the centennial commemorations of the Movement in 1933. An 'Afterword' chapter assesses the continuing influence of the Oxford Movement in the world Anglican Communion today, with special references to some of the conflicts and controversies that have shaken Anglicanism since the 1960s.
The Oxford Handbook of the Pentateuch (Oxford Handbooks)
Featuring contributions from internationally-recognized scholars in the study of the Pentateuch, this volume provides a comprehensive survey of key topics and issues in contemporary pentateuchal scholarship. The Oxford Handbook of the Pentateuch considers recent debates about the formation of the Pentateuch and their implications for biblical scholarship. At the same time, it addresses a number of issues that relate more broadly to the social and intellectual worlds of the Pentateuch. This includes engagements with questions of archaeology and history, the Pentateuch and the Samaritans, the relation between the Pentateuch and other Moses traditions in the Second Temple period, the Pentateuch and social memory, and more. Crucially, the Handbook situates its discussions of current developments in pentateuchal studies in relation to the field's long history, one that in its modern, critical phase is now more than two centuries old. By showcasing both this rich history and the leading edges of the field, this collection provides a clear account of pentateuchal studies and a fresh sense of its vitality and relevance within biblical studies, religious studies, and the broader humanities.
The Oxford Handbook of the Reception of Aquinas (Oxford Handbooks)
The Oxford Handbook of the Reception of Aquinas provides a comprehensive survey of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant philosophical and theological reception of Thomas Aquinas over the past 750 years.This Handbook will serve as a necessary primer for everyone who wishes to study Aquinas's thought and/or the history of theology and philosophy since Aquinas's day. Part I considers the late-medieval receptions of Aquinas among Catholics and Orthodox. Part II examines sixteenth-century Western receptions of Aquinas (Protestant and Catholic), followed by a chapter on sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Orthodox reception. Part III discusses seventeenth-century Protestant and Catholic receptions, and Part IV surveys eighteenth- and nineteenth-century receptions (Protestant, Orthodox, and Catholic). Part V focuses on the twentieth century and takes into account the diversity of theological movements in the past century as well as extensive philosophical treatment. The final section unpicks contemporary systematic approaches to Aquinas, covering the main philosophical and theological themes for which he is best known. With chapters written by a wide range of experts in their respective fields, this volume provides a valuable touchstone regarding the developments that have marked the past seven centuries of Christian theology.
The Oxford Handbook of the Septuagint (Oxford Handbooks)
The Septuagint is the term commonly used to refer to the corpus of early Greek versions of Hebrew Scriptures. The collection is of immense importance in the history of both Judaism and Christianity. The renderings of individual books attest to the religious interests of the substantial Jewish population of Egypt during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and to the development of the Greek language in its Koine phase. The narrative ascribing the Septuagint's origins to the work of seventy translators in Alexandria attained legendary status among both Jews and Christians. The Septuagint was the version of Scripture most familiar to the writers of the New Testament, and became the authoritative Old Testament of the Greek and Latin Churches. In the early centuries of Christianity it was itself translated into several other languages, and it has had a continuing influence on the style and content of biblical translations. The Oxford Handbook of the Septuagint features contributions from leading experts in the field considering the history and manuscript transmission of the version, and the study of translation technique and textual criticism. The collection provides surveys of previous and current research on individual books of the Septuagint corpus, on alternative Jewish Greek versions, the Christian 'daughter' translations, and reception in early Jewish and Christian writers. The Handbook also includes several conversations with related fields of interest such as New Testament studies, liturgy, and art history.
The Oxford Handbook of the Study of Religion (Oxford Handbooks)
The Oxford Handbook of the Study of Religion provides a comprehensive overview of the academic study of religion. Written by an international team of leading scholars, its fifty-one chapters are divided thematically into seven sections. The first section addresses five major conceptual aspects of research on religion. Part two surveys eleven main frameworks of analysis, interpretation, and explanation of religion. Reflecting recent turns in the humanities and social sciences, part three considers eight forms of the expression of religion. Part four provides a discussion of the ways societies and religions, or religious organizations, are shaped by different forms of allocation of resources. Other chapters in this section consider law, the media, nature, medicine, politics, science, sports, and tourism. Part five reviews important developments, distinctions, and arguments for each of the selected topics. The study of religion addresses religion as a historical phenomenon and part six looks at seven historical processes. Religion is studied in various ways by many disciplines, and this Handbook shows that the study of religion is an academic discipline in its own right. The disciplinary profile of this volume is reflected in part seven, which considers the history of the discipline and its relevance. Each chapter in the Handbook references at least two different religions to provide fresh and innovative perspectives on key issues in the field. This authoritative collection will advance the state of the discipline and is an invaluable reference for students and scholars.
The Oxford Handbook of the Writings of the Hebrew Bible (Oxford Handbooks)
This Oxford Handbook is a serious resource for the study of the literature of the Writings (Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Esther, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles, Daniel) of the Hebrew Bible, including its context and its scriptural/canonical shape and reception. A first section provides an overview of the post-exilic period in which much of the Writings was written, focusing on history, archeology, and the development of major literary traditions, all of which provide the context for understanding and interpreting this literature. A second section contains creative studies of the books in the Writings, focusing on structure, purpose, and distinctive characteristics of this very diverse literature. A third section looks at the Writings from larger and longer perspectives including the ancient Near East, developing Judaism and Christianity, Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, music and the arts, and its canonization and reception by Judaism and Christianity. This handbook has a focus on the special character and shape of the Writings as scripture and canon, including the recurring issues of diversity and difference, dates of canonization, its special relationship to other scripture and canon (Torah, Prophets, New Testament), and its interpretation in religious and non-religious communities.
The Oxford Handbook of Theology, Sexuality, and Gender (Oxford Handbooks)
The Oxford Handbook of Theology, Sexuality, and Gender presents an unrivalled overview of the theological study of sexuality and gender. Not merely contentious and pervasive topics, sexuality and gender have escalated in importance within theology. Theologians increasingly agree that even the very doctrine of God cannot be contemplated without a prior grappling with each. Featuring 41 newly-commissioned essays, written by the foremost scholars in the discipline, this authoritative collection presents and develops the latest thinking in the area. Divided into eight thematic sections, the Handbook explores key methodological approaches, concepts, and issues, as well as current controversies within various denominations. Selected essays draw on reason as a distinct source of theology, discussing evolutionary biology and behavioural genetics, psychology, anthropological research, philosophical research, and queer theory. It examines the history of in theologies of sexuality and gender, with close analysis of the Bible and the Christian tradition. The final section considers theology in relation to different expressions of sexual identities. This volume is an essential reference for students and scholars, which will also stimulate further research.
The Oxford Handbook of Turkish Politics (Oxford Handbooks)
Turkey is a country with a history of multiparty electoral competition going back to 1950, longer than many other nations in the world. Until recently, it was often perceived as a model country that showed the feasibility of democratic governance in a Muslim-majority society. However, the rise of religious-nationalist populism and sociopolitical polarization has resulted in an authoritarian turn that has stifled political liberalization. Turkish foreign policy has had strong linkages with the West, but now exhibits a more independent and assertive position. Turkish national identity remains exclusionary, as citizens not belonging to the dominant ethnic and religious groups face various levels of discrimination. Political violence persists in the forms of state repression, insurgent attacks, and terrorism; nevertheless, Turkish civil society continues to be resilient. The economy has exhibited sustained levels of growth, though it remains vulnerable to crises. The Oxford Handbook of Turkish Politics includes in-depth analyses of all these issues in conversation with the broader scholarly literature on authoritarianism and democratization, political economy, electoral politics, politics of identity, social movements, foreign policy, and the politics of art. With contributions by leading experts, the Handbook is an authoritative source offering state-of-the-art reviews of the scholarship on Turkish politics. The volume is an analytical, comprehensive, and comparative overview of contemporary politics in a country that literally and figuratively epitomizes "being at the crossroads."
The Oxford Handbook of Vatican II (Oxford Handbooks in Religion and Theology)
The Oxford Handbook of Vatican II is a rich source of information and reflections on many aspects of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), one of the most significant religious events of the twentieth century. The chapters introduce readers to the historical context and outstanding features of the conciliar event, and its principal teachings on Scripture and Tradition, the church, liturgy, religious liberty, ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, church-world relations, and mission. Consideration is given to some neglected aspects of the council, including: the forgotten papal speeches that lay out its fundamental orientation and ought to guide its interpretation; the presence and contributions of women; and the non-reception of the council among Catholic traditionalists. Ecumenical scholars reflect on the significance of Vatican II for the life of other Christian churches and the search for Christian unity; others examine Catholic dialogue with other religious traditions. Surveying the diverse receptions of the council in the perspective of a world church, chapters focusing on Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America, Oceania, and Europe reflect on the interpretation and influence of the council and its teaching on the life of the church in diverse cultural contexts. This Handbook will serve as a valuable guide to one of the most important events and bodies of Catholic teaching since the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century, to the interpretation of the council's teaching, and to its continuing role in guiding the life of the church in the twenty-first century. .
The Oxford Handbook of Wisdom and the Bible (Oxford Handbooks)
This collection of leading scholars presents reflections on both wisdom as a general concept throughout history and cultures, as well as the contested nature of the category of Wisdom Literature. The first half of the collection explores wisdom more generally with essays on its relationship to skill, epistemology, virtue, theology, and order. Wisdom is examined in a number of different contexts, such as historically in the Hebrew Bible and its related cultures, in Egypt and Mesopotamia, as well as in Patristic and Rabbinic interpretation. Additionally, wisdom is examined in its continuing relevance in Islamic, Jewish, and Christian thought, as well as from feminist, environmental, and other contextual perspectives. The second half of the volume considers "Wisdom Literature" as a category. Scholars address its relation to the Solomonic Collection, its social setting, literary genres, chronological development, and theology. Wisdom Literature's relation to other biblical literature (law, history, prophecy, apocalyptic, and the broad question of "Wisdom influence") is then discussed before separate chapters on the texts commonly associated with the category. Contributors take a variety of approaches to the current debates surrounding the viability and value of Wisdom Literature as a category and its proper relationship to the concept of wisdom in the Hebrew Bible. Though the organization of the volume highlights the independence of wisdom as concept from "Wisdom Literature" as a category, seeking to counter the lack of attention given to this question in the traditional approach, the inclusion of both topics together in the same volume reflects their continued interconnection. As such, this handbook both represents the current state of Wisdom scholarship and sets the stage for future developments.
The Oxford History of Anglicanism, Volume I: Reformation and Identity c.1520-1662 (Oxford History of Anglicanism)
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 experts 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 one of The Oxford History of Anglicanism examines a period when the nature of 'Anglicanism' was still heavily contested. Rather than merely tracing the emergence of trends that we associate with later Anglicanism, the contributors instead discuss the fluid and contested nature of the Church of England's religious identity in these years, and the different claims to what should count as 'Anglican' orthodoxy. After the introduction and narrative chapters explain the historical background, individual chapters then analyse different understandings of the early church and church history; variant readings of the meaning of the royal supremacy, the role of bishops and canon law, and cathedrals; the very diverse experiences of religion in parishes, styles of worship and piety, church decoration, and Bible usage; and the competing claims to 'Anglican' orthodoxy of puritanism, 'avant-garde conformity' and Laudianism. Also analysed are arguments over the Church of England's confessional identity and its links with the foreign Reformed Churches, and the alternative models provided by English Protestant activities in Ireland, Scotland and North America. The reforms of the 1640s and 1650s are included in their own right, and the volume concludes that the shape of the Restoration that emerged was far from inevitable, or expressive of a settled 'Anglican' identity.
The Oxford History of Anglicanism, Volume II: Establishment and Empire, 1662 -1829 (Oxford History of Anglicanism)
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 two of The Oxford History of Anglicanism explores the period between 1662 and 1829 when its defining features were arguably its establishment status, which gave the Church of England a political and social position greater than before or since. The contributors explore the consequences for the Anglican Church of its establishment position and the effects of being the established Church of an emerging global power. The volume examines the ways in which the Anglican Church engaged with Evangelicalism and the Enlightenment; outlines the constitutional position and main challenges and opportunities facing the Church; considers the Anglican Church in the regions and parts of the growing British Empire; and includes a number of thematic chapters assessing continuity and change.
The Oxford History of Anglicanism, Volume III: Partisan Anglicanism and its Global Expansion 1829-c. 1914 (Oxford History of Anglicanism)
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 three of The Oxford History of Anglicanism explores the nineteenth century when Anglicanism developed into a world-wide Christian communion, largely, but not solely, due to the expansion of the British Empire. By the end of this period an Anglican Communion had come into existence as a diverse conglomerate of often competing Anglican identities with their often unresolved tensions and contradictions, but also with some measure of genuine unity. The volume examines the ways the various Anglican identities of the nineteenth century are both metropolitan and colonial constructs, and how they influenced the wider societies in which they formed Anglican Churches.
The Oxford History of Anglicanism, Volume IV: Global Western Anglicanism, c. 1910-present (Oxford History Of Anglicanism)
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 from 1910 to present day.
The Oxford History of Anglicanism, Volume V: Global Anglicanism, c. 1910-2000 (Oxford History of Anglicanism)
The Oxford History of Anglicanism provides a global study of Anglicanism from the sixteenth century to the twenty-first. The five volumes in the series look at how Anglican identity was constructed and contested since the English Reformation of the sixteenth century, and examine its historical influence during the past six centuries. They consider not only 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 since the nineteenth century. Written by international experts in their various historical fields, each volumes analyses the varieties of Anglicanism that have emerged. The series also highlights the formal, political, institutional, and ecclesiastical forces that have shaped a global Anglicanism; and the interaction of Anglicanism with informal and external influences which have both moulded Anglicanism and been fashioned by it. Volume five of The Oxford History of Anglicanism considers the global experience of the Church of England in mission and in the transitions of its mission Churches towards autonomy in the twentieth century. The Church developed institutionally, yet more than the institutional history of the Church of England and its spheres of influence is probed. The contributors focus on what it has meant to be Anglican in diverse contexts. What spread from England was not simply a religious institution but the religious tradition it intended to implant. The volume addresses questions of the conduct of mission, its intended and unintended consequences. It offers important insights on what decolonization meant for Anglicans as the mission Church in various global locations became self-reliant. This study breaks new ground in describing the emergence of an Anglicanism shaped more contextually than externally. It illustrates how Anglicanism became enculturated across a broad swath of cultural contexts. The influence of context, and the challenge of adaption to it, framed Anglicanism's twentieth-century experience.
The Oxford History of British and Irish Catholicism, Volume I: Endings and New Beginnings, 1530-1640 (Oxford History of British and Irish Catholicism)
The first volume of The Oxford History of British & Irish Catholicism explores the period 1530-1640, from Henry VIII's break with Rome to the outbreak of the civil wars in Britain and Ireland. It analyses the efforts to create Catholic communities after the officially implemented change in religion, as well as the start of initiatives that would set the course of British and Irish Catholicism, including the beginning of the missionary enterprise and the formation of a network of exile religious institutions such as colleges and convents. This work explores every aspect of life for Catholics in both islands as they came to grips with the constant changes in religious policies that characterised this 110-year period. Accordingly, there are chapters on music, on literature in the vernaculars, on violence and martyrdom, and on the specifics of the female experience. Anxiety and the challenges of living in religiously mixed societies gave rise to new forms of creativity in religious life which made the Catholic experience much more than either plain continuity or endless endurance. Antipopery, or the extent to which Catholics became a symbolic antitype for Protestants, became in many respects a kind of philosophy about which political life in England, Scotland, and colonised Ireland began to revolve. At the same time the legal frameworks across both Britain and Ireland which sought to restrict, fine, or exclude Catholics from public life are given close attention throughout, as they were the daily exigencies which shaped identity just as much as devotions, liturgy, and directives emanating from the Catholic Reformation then ongoing in continental Europe.
The Oxford History of British and Irish Catholicism, Volume II: Uncertainty and Change, 1641-1745 (Oxford History of British and Irish Catholicism)
The second volume of The Oxford History of British & Irish Catholicism traces the fortunes of Catholic communities in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland across a period of great uncertainty and change. From the outset of the Civil Wars in 1641 to the Jacobite rising of 1745, Catholics in the three kingdoms were varied in their responses to tumultuous events and tantalising opportunities. The competing forces of dynamism and conservatism within these communities saw them constantly seeking to re-situate or re-imagine themselves as their relationship to the state, to Protestantism, to continental Europe, as well as the wider world beyond, changed and evolved. Consciously transnational, the volume moves away from insular conceptualisations of Catholicism and instead stresses connections with the European continent and beyond. Early chapters give broad overviews of the experience of Catholics in the period, tracking key events and important developments from 1641 to 1745. Chapters then address specific aspects of Catholicism, including empire and overseas missions, missionary activity, devotion, spirituality, trade, material culture, music, and architecture, among others, revealing a complex, rich and varied history of Catholicism in the period.
The Oxford History of British and Irish Catholicism, Volume III: Relief, Revolution, and Revival, 1746-1829 (Oxford History of British and Irish Catholicism)
The third volume of The Oxford History of British and Irish Catholicism examines the period from the defeat of the Jacobite army at the battle of Culloden in 1746 to the enactment of Catholic emancipation in 1829. The first part of the volume offers a chronological overview tracing the decline of Jacobitism, the easing of penal legislation which targeted Catholics, the complex impact of the French Revolution, the debates about the place of Catholics in the post-Union state, and - following the mass mobilisation of Irish Catholics - the passage of emancipation. The second part of the volume shows that this political history can only be properly understood with reference to the broader transformations that occurred in the later eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The period witnessed the expansion of Catholic infrastructure (pastoral structures, chapel building, elementary education and finances) and changes in Catholic practice, for example in liturgy and devotion. The growing infrastructure and more public profession of Catholicism occurred in a society where anti-Catholicism remained a force, but the volume also addresses the accommodations and interactions with non-Catholics that attended daily life. Crucially, the transformations of this period were international, as well as national. The volume examines the British and Irish convents, colleges, friaries and monasteries on the continent, especially during the events of the 1790s when many institutions closed and successor or new ones emerged at home. The international dimensions of British and Irish Catholicism extended beyond Europe too as the British Empire expanded globally, and attention is given to the involvement of British and Irish Catholics in imperial expansion. This volume addresses the literary, intellectual and cultural expressions of Catholicism in Britain and Ireland. Catholics produced a rich literature in English, Irish, Scots Gaelic and Welsh, although the volume shows the disparities in provision. They also engaged with and participated in the Catholic Enlightenment, particularly as they grappled with the challenges of accommodation to a Protestant constitution. This also had consequences for the public expression of Catholicism and the volume concludes by exploring the shifting expression of belief through music and material culture.
The Oxford History of British and Irish Catholicism, Volume IV: Building Identity, 1830-1913 (Oxford History of British and Irish Catholicism)
After 1830 Catholicism in Britain and Ireland was practised and experienced within an increasingly secure Church that was able to build a national presence and public identity. With the passage of the Catholic Relief Act (Catholic Emancipation) in 1829 came civil rights for the United Kingdom's Catholics, which in turn gave Catholic organisations the opportunity to carve out a place in civil society within Britain and its empire. This Catholic revival saw both a strengthening of central authority structures in Rome, (creating a more unified transnational spiritual empire with the person of the Pope as its centre), and a reinvigoration at the local and popular level through intensified sacramental, devotional, and communal practices. After the 1840s, Catholics in Britain and Ireland not only had much in common as a consequence of the Church's global drive for renewal, but the development of a shared Catholic culture across the two islands was deepened by the large-scale migration from Ireland to many parts of Britain following the Great Famine of 1845. Yet at the same time as this push towards a degree of unity and uniformity occurred, there were forces which powerfully differentiated Catholicism on either side of the Irish Sea. Four very different religious configurations of religious majorities and minorities had evolved since the sixteenth-century Reformation in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Each had its own dynamic of faith and national identity and Catholicism had played a vital role in all of them, either as 'other' or, (in the case of Ireland), as the majority's 'self'. Identities of religion, nation, and empire, and the intersection between them, lie at the heart of this volume. They are unpacked in detail in thematic chapters which explore the shared Catholic identity that was built between 1830 and 1913 and the ways in which that identity was differentiated by social class, gender and, above all, nation. Taken together, these chapters show how Catholicism was integral to the history of the United Kingdom in this period.
The Oxford History of British and Irish Catholicism, Volume V: Recapturing the Apostolate of the Laity, 1914-2021 (Oxford History of British and Irish Catholicism)
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.