Muers, RE and Grant, R (2017) Theology at Thresholds: Learning From A Practice 'In Transition'. Ecclesial Practices, 4 (1). pp. 45-62. ISSN 2214-4463
Abstract
Recent developments in contemporary theology and theological ethics have directed academic attention to the interrelationships of theological claims, on the one hand, and core community-forming practices, on the other. This article considers the value for theology of attending to practice at the boundaries, the margins, or, as we prefer to express it, the threshold of a community’s institutional or liturgical life. We argue that marginal or threshold practices can offer insights into processes of theological change – and into the mediation between, and reciprocal influence of, ‘church’ and ‘world’. Our discussion focuses on an example from contemporary British Quakerism. ‘Threshing meetings’ are occasions at which an issue can be ‘threshed out’ as part of a collective process of decision-making. Drawing on a 2015 small-scale study (using a survey and focus group) of British Quaker attitudes to and experiences of threshing meetings, set in the wider context of Quaker tradition, we interpret these meetings as a space for working through – in context and over time – tensions within Quaker theology, practice and self-understandings, particularly those that emerge within, and in relation to, core practices of Quaker decision-making.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2017, Koninklijke Brill NV. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Ecclesial Practices. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) > Theology and Religious Studies (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Hibbert Trust (Kristal) Not given |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 03 Apr 2017 13:08 |
Last Modified: | 17 May 2019 00:39 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Brill Academic Publishers |
Identification Number: | 10.1163/22144471-00401005 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:114399 |