Church and Economic Life: A Documentary Study, 1945 to the Present » (ANN)

Economics impinges upon everyone. Individuals and communities alike are shaped by the structures of work, the distribution of wealth and the values supporting economic activity. This is profoundly moral territory, and yet an area of life which the churches have often been unsure how to address. Nevertheless, the British churches have worked to engage with issues of economic ethics, employment and distributional justice. They have striven to understand, to influence practice and to bring theology into dialogue with the worlds of money, work and commerce. Through denominational structures, through ecumenical ventures such as Industrial Mission, and through the work of thoughtful Christians, lay and ordained, the churches have built up an impressive history of 'doing theology' in the public sphere, with the economy as the focus.

The records of this work lie largely in archives, ephemeral publications and works now out of print. Here, for the first time, many of these texts are brought together to tell a fascinating story of practical Christian action through six decades of radical social change. At a time when the churches' mission is in danger of having little to say to the public dimension of Christians' lives, this book is a challenge to the churches to risk a moral engagement with the workings of the economy, which does so much to determine human flourishing.

About the Author:
Malcolm Brown is Principal of the Eastern Region Ministry Course

About the Author:
Paul Ballard is Professor Emeritus in the School of Religious and Theological Studies, Cardiff University

Acknowledgements     v
Foreword   John Atherton     ix
The Economy as a Site of Christian Mission     1
Heritage and Response 1918-45     23
The inherited tradition     23
Readings     23
Oxford Conference on Life and Work, 1937     39
Christianity and Social Order     43
Towards the Conversion of England     48
A note on theological methodology     49
Consensus 1945-79     58
Britain in the post-war world     58
Readings     71
The churches' voices 1945-79     72
Industrial Mission     104
Centres for enquiry and study     157
Individual authors     169
Crisis 1979-90     173
The end of consensus     173
Readings     200
The churches address the issues     200
The bishops and their critics     217
Reinventing Industrial Mission     235
Facing economic change at ground level     267
Continuing the spiritual journey     290
Individual authors     294
Consumption 1985 to the Present     297
Making sense of where we are now     297
Readings     310
Globalization     310
The professions under fire     326
Economics, social trends and the churches     338
The challenge from the activists     349
In the name of the churches     357
Industrial Mission reinvents itself     371
Reconnecting with theology, ecclesiology and spirituality     398
Comfortable with consumer capitalism?     412
Individual authors     416
6 Where Now?     419
Notes     435
Bibliography     439
Sources and Acknowledgements     455
Index of Names     458