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Life Beyond the Grave: New Churches in York and the Afterlife, c. 1982–2007
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 March 2016
Extract
Most studies of Christianity in recent British history are pessimistic about church life in Britain, varying only in the depth of their pessimism. Alongside the assumption that Christianity in Britain is in inexorable decline is the assumption that traditional Christian notions about the afterlife – and indeed stress on the afterlife at all – are fast disappearing. Even studies of charismatic Christianity, the most recent major Christian movement, see it as stagnant or in decline. However, a study of the city of York shows such pessimism to be overstated. Whilst mainline denominations are mostly in slow or rapid decline, a large number of ‘new churches’ have arisen. This paper shows how these churches perceive the afterlife. It uncovers a rich seam of contemporary theology from below. Though largely unknown to those outside its congregations, this strand of belief is already of considerable significance and is likely to become more so in the twenty-first century. This paper offers contemporary religious history, showing that dramatic shifts within Christian history are not solely the preserve of previous centuries, but have taken place in recent decades.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Studies in Church History , Volume 45: The Church, the Afterlife and the Fate of the Soul , 2009 , pp. 404 - 412
- Copyright
- Copyright © Ecclesiastical History Society 2009
References
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11 The ‘Free Church’ category includes a handful of the new congregations, without which Free Church decline would be more pronounced.
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