Christianity between 1940 and 1990
It can almost be argued that the churches of the 1990's were in a different world to those of the 1940s and 1950s. The earlier churches lived in a British society that could be called Christian. At at least one point in their lives, everybody would enter a church, whether this was at birth, confirmation, baptism, marriage or death. Very few children would leave school knowing nothing of the Christian faith. The later churches live in what has been called a post-Christian society. It is now possible to live your whole life without entering a Church. Christianity, when taught, in schools is only one of a number of faiths. The same is true outside of school, Christianity is one amongst many, even if it is the largest of the many. Because of this, although some things have remained the same with the churches of the two periods, many things have changed.One of the similarities is seen in the Churches concern about numbers. One of the main concerns of the church in the 1940s and 1950s was the fall in active membership. The passive membership remained strong but the active figure was falling. This concern is, if anything, stronger in the church in the 1990s. Peter Brierley writes "Christianity will decline in Europe between 1993 and
"Theologically, the principal Protestant Churches of post-war Britain were concerned predominantly with a very 'churchly' set of issues. This movement began with a laity group - The Full Gospel Business Men's Association. The numbers of both had grown by 17% by 1993, and they are likely to continue to grow at much the same rate. In November 1992, the General Synod of the Church of England decided to allow the ordination of women. The following quote reveals the growth in numbers of denominations across the world, the growth in Britain is similar: "In 1980, there were 1,720,000 churches across the world in 20,800 denominations. The first chapter of traditions tells us that it was the individual Catholics duty to fit into the scheme. The Catholic priest in my own area is leader of the local ecumenical group. Most things seem to have been dealt with 'in house'. Any discussion of Christianity would be referring to these denominations. It was then discovered that despite all of the threatened splits within the Church over the issue, this was accepted fairly quietly. One of the few 'new' theological issues being discussed was to do with environmentalism. But it did not have much influence until after the 1950s. The World Council of Churches was probably the biggest of the few at the time. Ministers go on sabbatical for three months at a time, churches spend a year or longer without a minister due to they're being more churches than clerics.
Common topics in this essay:
Catholic Church,
World's Religions,
Council Churches,
Deficit Disorder,
Peter Brierley,
Church Christianity,
,
Church England,
Graham Crusade,
Waldren Scott,
1940s 1950s,
traditional churches,
world council,
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council churches,
laity involvement,
catholic church,
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difference churches periods,
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Acceptance Essays
