Day, Abby. 2017. The Religious Lives of Older Laywomen: The Last Active Anglican Generation. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198739586 [Book]

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Abstract or Description

- Provides a detailed record of a vanishing people (Generation A) through ethnographic fieldwork situated historically and socially.
- Offers insights and theory into why the women engage in a particular mode of religious practice.
- Reflects on the consequences of their loss in both religious and secular domains.
- Challenges, revises, and introduces theories related to religiosity, women, and generations.

The Religious Lives of Older Laywomen draws on ethnographic fieldwork, cross-cultural comparisons, and relevant theories exploring the beliefs, identities, and practices of 'Generation A'—Anglican laywomen born in the 1920s and 1930s. Now in their 70s, 80s, and 90s, they are often described as the 'backbone' of the Church and likely its final active generation. The prevalence of laywomen in mainstream Christian congregations is a widely accepted phenomenon that will cause little surprise amongst the research community or Christian adherents. What is surprising is that we know so little about them.

Generation A laywomen have remained largely invisible in previous work on institutional religion in Euro-American countries, particularly as the focus on religion and gender has turned to youth, sexuality, and priesthood. Female Christian Generation A is on the cusp of a catastrophic decline in mainstream Christianity that accelerated during the 'post-war' (post-1945) age. The age profile of mainstream Christianity represents an increasingly aging pattern, with Generation A not being replaced by their children or grandchildren—the Baby-Boomers and generations X, Y, and Z. Generation A is irreplaceable and unique. 'Generation' shares specific values, beliefs, behaviours, and orientations, therefore, when this generation finally disappears within the next five to 10 years, their knowledge, insights, and experiences will be lost forever. Abby Day both documents and interprets their religious lives and what we can learn about them and more widely, about contemporary Christianity and its future.

Item Type:	Book
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Sociology
Date:	23 February 2017
Item ID:	19492
Date Deposited:	04 Jan 2017 16:19
Last Modified:	22 Feb 2021 12:13
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/19492

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