You don’t have to go to church to be a good Christian

The implicit religion of rural Anglican churchgoers celebrating harvest

Authors

  • David Walker Glyndwr University, and University of Warwick
  • Leslie Francis University of Warwick
  • Mandy Robbins University of Warwick

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.v13i3.319

Keywords:

Implicit Religion, rural church, harvest festival, psychology of religion, church attendance

Abstract

The notion that you don’t have to go to church to be a good Christian is accepted as an indicator of the form of implicit religiosity espoused by those who (in Bailey’s analysis) say that they “believe in Christianity.” The prevalence of this belief was examined in a sample of 1226 individuals attending harvest festival services in Anglican churches in rural Worcestershire. The data demonstrate that around two out of every three attenders (63%) endorsed this view of Christianity. The levels were highest among those who attended church less than six times a year (84%), and among those who never prayed (81%). Such high levels of endorsement among those who attend church for harvest festival services suggest that de-institutionalized implicit religion may be superseding commitment to conventional explicit religious attendance. This form of implicit religion could erode further the already weak connection between the rural church and rural society.

References

Bailey, E. I. 1998. Implicit Religion: an introduction. London: Middlesex University Press.

Bruce, S. 2002. God is Dead: secularisation in the west. Oxford: Blackwell.

Davie, G. 1994. Religion in Britain since 1945: believing without belonging. Oxford: Blackwell.

Francis, L.J. and P. Richter. 2007. Gone for Good? Church-leaving and returning in the 21st century. Peterborough: Epworth.

Gill, R. 1993. The Myth of the Empty Church. London: SPCK.

———. 2003. The “Empty” Church Revisited. Aldershot: Ashgate.

Rose, J. 2009. Church on Trial. London: Darton, Longman and Todd.

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Published

2010-12-19

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 3 (2010)

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Walker, D., Francis, L., & Robbins, M. (2010). You don’t have to go to church to be a good Christian: The implicit religion of rural Anglican churchgoers celebrating harvest. Implicit Religion, 13(3), 319-325. https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.v13i3.319