2015/10/26 by Daniel Stivan Velásquez Muñoz · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Religion, Society, and Development #Christian Theology and Mission #Reformation and Early Modern Christianity #Narrative #Orthodoxy #Attendance #Postmodernism #Identity (music) #History #Sociology #Church Growth #Gender studies #Political science #Aesthetics #Law #Philosophy #Epistemology #Art #Literature #Archaeology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/s1740355315000212
openalex publication_date 2015/10/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract In recent decades Anglicans have developed a largely unquestioned and unchallenged narrative of global growth and decline. This narrative tells a story of Anglicanism’s success being largely due to growth in developing, postcolonial nations which, according to the narrators, is ongoing and unstoppable. At the same time, first-world, mostly postmodern nations have seen a steep decline in church membership and attendance. Numeric growth and strength have been used to define ecclesial identity and to legitimate understandings of ‘Anglican orthodoxy’. This article offers an up-to-date reappraisal of Anglican Communion membership and, in that process, challenges many of the premises of such a narrative.