To many people, the Church of England and worldwide Anglican Communion has the aura of an institution that is dislocated and adrift. Buffeted by tempestuous and stormy debates on sexuality, gender, authority and power - to say nothing of priorities in mission and ministry, and the leadership and management of the church - a once confident Anglicanism appears to be anxious and vulnerable. The Future Shape of Anglicanism offers a constructive and critical engagement with the currents and contours that have brought the church to this point. It assesses and evaluates the forces now shaping the church and challenges them culturally, critically, and theologically.

The Future Shape of Anglicanism engages with the church of the present that is simultaneously dissenting and loyal, as well as critical and constructive. For all who are engaged in ecclesiological investigations, and for those who study the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion, this book offers new maps and charts for the present and future. It is an essential companion and guide to some of the movements and forces that are currently shaping the church.

About the Author

Martyn Percy is Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. He is a member of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oxford, where he also teaches in the Department of Sociology, and for the Said Business School. He also serves as a Professor of Theological Education at King's College London and a Professorial Research Fellow at Heythrop College, University of London. He was formerly (from 2004-2014) the Principal of Ripon College, Cuddesdon, at Oxford. He writes on Christianity and contemporary culture, modern ecclesiology and practical theology. Recent books include Thirty-Nine New Articles: An Anglican Landscape of Faith (2013), Anglicanism: Confidence, Commitment and Communion (2013) and The Oxford Handbook of Anglican Studies (2015, and edited with Mark Chapman and Sathi Clarke). He was recently described in the journal Theology as the British theologian who is closest to being a 'missionary anthropologist'.

Reviews

"The Future Shapes of Anglicanism by Martyn Percy, comes from a definite liberal (or "broad") Anglican perspective, but the author's in-depth knowledge of both the Church of England and global Anglicanism and blending of sociology and theology make the book an interesting exploration of this conflicted Christian tradition."

- ReligionWatch Vol. 32, No. 9 July 2017

"Of interest to historians is Percy's championing of a version of broad church Anglicanism. (...) [the books] principal critique of the management-driven model now being proposed by church leaders is likely to remain valuable for some time."

- J. Douglas Ousley, Church of the Incarnation, New York, US

Book Information
ISBN 9781472477187
Author Martyn Percy
Format Paperback
Page Count 218
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 352g