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Product Description
Product Description
What is Anglicanism? How is it different from other forms of Christianity, and how did it come to have so many different versions throughout the world? Although originally united by location and a common belief, Anglicanism has gradually lost its pre-eminence as the English state church due to increasing pluralisation and secularisation. While there are distinctive themes and emphases which emerge from its early history and theology, there is little sense of unity in Anglicanism today. In Anglicanism: A Very Short Introduction, Mark Chapman highlights the diversity of contemporary Anglicanism by exploring its fascinating history, theology, and structures. Putting the history and development of the religion into context, Chapman reveals what it is that holds Anglicanism together despite the recent crises that threaten to tear it apart.
About the Author
Mark Chapman is Vice-Principal of Ripon College, Oxford, and is a historian and historical theologian. He has written extensively on religion and its role in society. He is editor of numerous books and journals, and his publications include By what authority? Authority, Ministry and the Catholic Church (1997), Liturgy, Socialism and Life: The Legacy of Conrad Noel (2001), and Building Community in South Africa: A Christian Perspective
(2003).
(2003).
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Chapman takes a basically historical path into explaining Anglicanism, starting with Cranmer and the Reformation and then tracing other themes over the centuries (e.g. chapters on each of evangelicalism and AngloCatholicism), finishing off with a big chapter on the worldwide Anglican communion.
Chapman's account is brief but he always picks up on choice examples to illustrate his points, e.g. the changes in the wording of the eucharistic prayer between the 1549 and 1552 prayer book, to show how Anglicans moved away from the real presence, or on the hymn "The Church's one foundation" was written to bulwark one side in the Colenso controversy in the 19th century.
So while it remains an introduction to Anglicanism, he's also got enough detail to interest those who are more familiar with the subject. Indeed, most of the chapters are weighty enough to form the first chunk of reading for someone doing an A level or undergraduate essay on anything from the Reformation to the Oxford movement.
His overall thesis is that Anglicanism started as primarily a Crown-based denomination: loyalty and faith in the Crown was at its core. It is therefore struggling still to define itself now that the Crown and English state no longer give it its natural definition: within England, a key point of departure was Catholic emancipation in the early 19th Century, formalising Anglicanism as one denomination among many; within the world, the change has been the end of empire, meaning that England no longer has meaningful authority.
His explanations shed great light on the current difficulties within the Anglican Communion: why should each church agree on everything? when was that ever the expectation?
In summary, this book fabulously achieves what it sets out to do: to provide a brief introduction to Anglicanism. Because the author is so in control of his subject, he has done more than that: it's a real insight into the Anglican denomination: its blessings and its problems.
Chapman's account is brief but he always picks up on choice examples to illustrate his points, e.g. the changes in the wording of the eucharistic prayer between the 1549 and 1552 prayer book, to show how Anglicans moved away from the real presence, or on the hymn "The Church's one foundation" was written to bulwark one side in the Colenso controversy in the 19th century.
So while it remains an introduction to Anglicanism, he's also got enough detail to interest those who are more familiar with the subject. Indeed, most of the chapters are weighty enough to form the first chunk of reading for someone doing an A level or undergraduate essay on anything from the Reformation to the Oxford movement.
His overall thesis is that Anglicanism started as primarily a Crown-based denomination: loyalty and faith in the Crown was at its core. It is therefore struggling still to define itself now that the Crown and English state no longer give it its natural definition: within England, a key point of departure was Catholic emancipation in the early 19th Century, formalising Anglicanism as one denomination among many; within the world, the change has been the end of empire, meaning that England no longer has meaningful authority.
His explanations shed great light on the current difficulties within the Anglican Communion: why should each church agree on everything? when was that ever the expectation?
In summary, this book fabulously achieves what it sets out to do: to provide a brief introduction to Anglicanism. Because the author is so in control of his subject, he has done more than that: it's a real insight into the Anglican denomination: its blessings and its problems.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I picked up this book to find out a bit more about this branch of Christianity, and by and large I was not disappointed. This is an eminently readable introduction to Anglicanism, from its founding in the 16th century to the present day. It covers all the major developments, and gives a brief background for each. It is particularly useful for anyone who wishes to put the present controversies shaking the Anglican communion in a historical context, and the last chapter of the book is devoted to these controversies.
The only shortcoming of the book is its overly historical and political point of view. I would have appreciated a more extensive insight into the Anglican theology. Overall, however, this is a wonderful little book and I highly recommend it.
The only shortcoming of the book is its overly historical and political point of view. I would have appreciated a more extensive insight into the Anglican theology. Overall, however, this is a wonderful little book and I highly recommend it.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A very helpful introduction which does exactly what the title suggests. I felt there was a lack of clarity in some areas, perhaps due the large and varired history of the topic. SOme cross-referencing may have helped in this. I still feel that value for money was had.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Reads like a Novel
This is indeed a very short introduction to Anglicanism taking us through its twists and turns from an historical vantage point. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Quentin D. Stewart
An introduction that reflects the very problems it tries to describe.
Credit when credit is due. Mark Chapman's work as a theologian is well know and rightly praised. This Very Short Introduction (VSI), as with all the series, is exactly what it... Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2008 by Blair
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