Transcript The Challenge of Leadership Religion and Churchgoing in

The Challenge of Leadership
Religion and Churchgoing in the
Twenty-First Century
"....discontent is the beginning of change. Only
by noticing what is wrong, seeing the systems
and structures that do not foster health and
happiness, can we ever make things different."
Diana Butler Bass - Christianity after Religion (HarperCollins 2012)
Typology
Religious
26% [28%]
Fuzzy Faithful
36% [39%]
Non -religious
31% [33%]
British Social Attitudes Report 26 (Voas and Ling / McAndrew )
Investigating the invisible church:
A survey of Christians who do not attend church
Findings: Woodhead’s KENDAL study
• “The explanation we offered for this ‘spiritual
revolution’ is that the forms of religion or spirituality
that are doing best are those that help resource
individuals in the living of their unique lives.”
• “These can be Christian or alternative. In either case,
what people are seeking are forms of religiosity that
make sense to them, rather than those
which demand that they subordinate their personal
truth to some higher authority. In other words, we
are witnessing a ‘subjectivisation’ or
‘democratisation’ of the sacred.”
Decline in religious affiliation
• Is it caused by ……..
Generational Cohort effect…?
Lifecycle effect….?
Period Effect ….?
Adult education insights:
Adults are not a blank slate.
Malcolm Knowles
Adults already have:
Experience
‘Self-concept’
………..
Adult education needs to start where people are
Faith Development insights:
Westerhoff’s ‘styles’ of faith
Owned faith
Searching faith
Affiliative faith
Experienced faith
OFSTED:
Schools that are encouraging pupils’ spiritual
development are likely to be:
• Giving pupils the opportunity to explore values and beliefs….
• …supporting and developing beliefs in ways which are
personal and relevant to them
• Encouraging pupils to reflect and learn from reflection.
• Promoting teaching styles which:
– Value pupils’ questions and give them space for their own
thoughts, ideas and concerns
– Enable pupils to make connections between aspects of
their learning
– Encourage pupils to relate their learning to a wider frame
of reference …
Promoting and evaluating pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (OFSTED, 2004)
• "I am intrigued by the Bible and the shape of
the Christian message…….……
………………..
I would like the church to answer MY
questions rather than THEIR questions..."
Speaker quoted in James Woodward, Valuing Age (SPCK, 2008)