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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Contested identities and schisms in groups: opposing the ordination of women as priests in the Church of England.

Schisms constitute a common characteristic of human groups. Nevertheless, they have been neglected by social psychology, mainly because social psychological theories either dismiss group consensus or else depict groups as monolithic. This study proposes a social psychological approach to schism which integrates recent developments of self-categorization theory (SCT) with work on category argumentation. According to SCT, shared group identification leads to a process by which members should reach agreement. However, it is suggested that where members construe the positions of others as fundamentally altering group identity, then consensus is impossible. The corollary of assuming that groups will be consensual is that lack of consensus indicates the existence of different groups. This idea is examined through an analysis of a video and booklet produced for a rally organized by Forward in Faith, an organization opposed to the ordination of women as priests within the Church of England. It is shown that the existence of women priests is construed as changing the essence of the Church both on a structural level (by dividing it from the rest of the Christian community and turning it into a sect) and doctrinally. Such changes are seen as threatening the very existence of the Church of England and therefore demanding all out opposition. However, it is also shown that the decision of whether opponents fight the changes from inside the Church or by splitting from it depends upon the perception of whether they will be accorded the opportunity to advance their position from within. Thus schism is associated with both a perceived 'change of essence' and also with 'lack of voice'.

Attitude↗

"Physician heal thyself": drink, temperance and the medical question in the Victorian and Edwardian Church of England, 1830-1914.

This paper examines the connection between medical research and temperance from the point of view of the Anglican temperance movement in three periods: (1) 1830-55, when Anglican clergymen resisted teetotalism in favour of moderation, in keeping with accepted medical opinion; (2) 1855-73, when a minority of Anglican teetotal clergymen attempted unsuccessfully to convert the Anglican Church to teetotalism and prohibition, as the medical profession in theory, but not always in practice, discouraged excessive therapeutic reliance on alcohol; and (3) 1873-1914, when the prestigious Church of England Temperance Society, with a dual basis, promoted teetotalism among the majority but affirmed the legitimacy of moderate drinking among the British medical and social elite.

Alcohol Drinking↗

A prospective study of the roles, responsibilities and stresses of chaplains working within a hospice.

Spiritual care is an integral part of palliative care and if asked, most members of a palliative care team would state they address spiritual issues. The majority of hospices have support from a chaplain. This study was to determine the roles of chaplains within hospices and to look at their levels of stress. A questionnaire containing both open and closed questions was sent to chaplains working within hospices in the UK. The questionnaire enquired about number of sessions, specific roles of chaplain, whether they were members of the multidisciplinary team and their sources of internal support. Stress was measured on a 10-point Likert scale and the GHQ12. One hundred and fifteen questionnaires were returned, with a 72% response rate. The majority (62%) defined their denomination as Church of England and Free Church (24%); 71% of respondents had parish commitments in addition to their hospice role. Roles were predominantly defined as spiritual care of patients and staff (95%) and bereavement support of relatives (76%) and 75% regularly attended the multidisciplinary meetings. Senior medical and nursing staff and other chaplains were perceived as providing most support. Median Likert score for stressfulness was 5, and 23% scored at or above the threshold on the GHQ12 for identifiable psychological morbidity. Clear role definition was associated with less perceived stress whereas the provision of bereavement support was associated with statistically significant increased perceived stress. The role of a chaplain within a hospice is varied and this study suggests that the provision of training and formal support is to be recommended.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

Homosexuality, class and the church in nineteenth century England: two case studies.

This article seeks to reconstruct and contrast two episodes in the nineteenth century Church. Both involved churchmen, Bishop Percy Jocelyn and Dean Charles Vaughan, in homosexual incidents. The second episode, that of Dean Vaughan, has been reconstructed for the first time using the Broadlands Manuscripts of Lord Palmerston. The most interesting aspect of these events is the response of the "establishment" to homosexuality. There seems little doubt that attitudes of the "establishment" were determined largely by class. The "establishment" would not officially condone homosexual behaviour, but in both cases (to varying degrees) it seems to have acted toward these men with latitude. One was able to evade justice, the other denied a mitre but otherwise allowed advancement in the Church. Both incidents provide evidence that persecution of homosexuals was something confined to the lower orders; and that the discreet middle class or aristocratic homosexual could rely on his class for protection. Perhaps integral to this tolerance was a Victorian taste for self-denial. The homosexual who treated his sexuality as a curse and a source of tragedy was more likely to attract the tolerance of his peers than the homosexual who acknowledged his sexuality to the full.

Attitude↗

Intermarriage and the demography of secularization.

One way of measuring religious affiliation is to look at rites of initiation such as baptism. English statistics show that for the first time since the Church of England was founded, less than half the nation is Anglican on this criterion. The pattern of formal religious transmission changed during the Second World War. Previously christening was quasi-universal, and the Church of England was the preferred provider. By the end of the war baptism was evidently optional, and chosen principally by parents whose religious identities matched. Further analysis suggests that affiliation now tends to be lost following marriage to someone from a different religious background, though the USA differs from Europe in this respect. A demographic theory of advanced secularization is outlined that specifies a proximal cause for declining religious affiliation, and provides tools for predicting the changes to be expected over future decades. The theory also helps to explain why affiliation may fall most quickly where there is most religious diversity.

Adolescent↗

Obstetrical events that shaped Western European history.

Taking into account that marriage, the family as a social unit, and concepts of legitimacy developed to ensure the devolution of property and that, when these concepts apply in a society based on hierarchically organized monarchies, they also involve the devolution of power, this essay furnishes examples of dislocations in such devolutions, in terms of familiar incidents in western European history. That Jane Seymour died in childbirth but her son Edward VI survived long enough to ensure the stability of the Church of England is the first example. The infertility of Mary Tudor, when married to Philip II of Spain, prevented the formation of an Anglo-Spanish dynasty that would have been Roman Catholic is the second example of such a dislocation. Likewise, the infertility of Charles II's wife, Catherine of Braganza, led to the succession of James II, a practicing Roman Catholic, whose attempts to undermine the Church of England led to the Glorious Revolution of 1788 and the preservation of English Protestantism. Another example is the death in 1817 of Princess Charlotte, in childbirth, which led to the scramble of George III's aging sons to marry and beget an heir to the throne. The only success led to the birth of the future Queen Victoria, whose dynastic competence remains unquestionable, but who herself had some passing involvement with obstetrical developments. Finally, the delivery of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who sustained a brachial plexus injury that produced Erb's palsy of the left arm, is considered, and the question of intrapartum fetal hypoxia is raised as a hypothesis, in addition to the mechanical trauma and its effect on his personality.

Europe↗

Women priests: from exclusion to accommodation.

The debate within the Church of England on opening the priesthood to women is analysed from the perspective of grid/group theory as a struggle between two competing models of the Church: the accommodationist and the exclusivist. The ascendancy of the accommodationist Church reflects the decline of status professionalism and rise of the formally rational modern profession, in which the criteria of occupational closure are themselves rationalized.

Christianity↗

Suicide as a crime in the UK: legal history, international comparisons and present implications.

Suicide was a crime in England and Wales until 1961. This paper compares the English legal treatment of suicide with that in other Western countries. The delayed English decriminalization of suicide is a likely result of the nature of English common law, rather than a reflection of actual public opinion and medico-legal practice. This subject remains of interest. Coronership, the cornerstone of English suicide certification, developed out of anti-suicide legislation, and important biases result from this. The Church of England may still deny ordinary burial rites to certain suicide victims. Assisted suicide, to be distinguished from euthanasia and suicide pacts, became a separate offence in 1961. Legislative reform regarding these issues, similarly to that regarding suicide, is likely to lag behind the development of public opinion and medical practice.

Burial↗

Physician and family assisted suicide: results from a study of public attitudes in Britain.

Legalisation of assisted suicide presents a dilemma for society. This arises because of a lack of consensus regarding the precedence to be accorded freedom of choice versus the inviolability of human life. Several factors including improvements in medical technology, population ageing and changing perceptions about quality of life serve to make a re-examination of attitudes to this issue appropriate at this time. Within this context, data from the 1983, 1984, 1989 and 1994 British Social Attitudes Surveys (BSAS) were examined. These demonstrate a slight increase in support for physician-assisted suicide (PAS) from around 75% to around 84% over the 11-year period in Britain. A much lower level of support (54%) was recorded in relation to family-assisted suicide (FAS). A logistic regression analysis of data from the 1994 survey was undertaken to establish the relationship between attitudes toward legalisation of PAS and FAS and the characteristics of the respondent. Strength of religious affiliation was found to be a significant determinant of opposition to legalisation of both. Religious denomination was found to be marginally significant in relation to PAS but not FAS. Members of the Church of England, non-Christian faiths and those of no faith were found to be marginally more likely to support legalisation of PAS, than Roman Catholics or those of other Christian faiths. Education, income, sex, marital status, long-standing illness and age were not found to be significant predictors of attitude. In relation to FAS age was also found to be significant predictor of opposition. Findings here suggest that if Britain continues to become a more secularised society, support for legalisation of PAS (and FAS) is likely to increase. As health care costs continue to grow and the ability to extend life (even where the quality of that life may be poor) increases, pressure for legalisation of PAS may increase.

Adult↗

An Islamic understanding of health care: what can it teach us?

Supporting the case for employment and use of non-Christian health care chaplains in the National Health Service (NHS), the Runnymede Trust (1997) states: The inclusiveness or otherwise of a society is seen particularly clearly in the provision which it makes for its members when they fall ill, and perhaps especially when they spend extended time in hospital. At this point of stress and distress in the lives of individuals and their families, are people helped to "maintain their own culture, traditions, language and values"? The Patient's Charter of 1991 requires that health care providers should ensure "respect for privacy, dignity and religious and cultural beliefs".... One way of helping to ensure that such respect is shown is through the appointment of hospital Chaplains.' Although the Patient's Charter (Department of Health 1991) and the subsequent NHS Management Executive document HSG (92)2 (Department of Health 1992) required provision for the religious needs of all patients, in reality, apart from a few exceptions, it led to the appointment of more Church of England Chaplains (Beckford and Gilliat, 1996). Recognizing this problem, Reid and Clarke (1998) indicated NHS Executive willingness to redraw these documents 'provided it comes in the form of a common agreed approach to all faith communities, on the status of chaplaincy and spiritual care in the NHS'.

Culture↗

The influence of religious beliefs on general practitioners' attitudes towards termination of pregnancy--a pilot study.

We set out to examine the attitudes of general practitioners in the West Norfolk area towards requests for abortion for various reasons and explore the factors that may influence their views, particularly their religious beliefs. This cross-sectional survey was conducted using a questionnaire, targeting 140 general practitioners. A response rate of 51.4% was achieved. All respondents were older than 30, and were mostly males (84.6%), married (93.8%) with children (90.9%). Most were either Church of England Christians (C of E) (48.5%) or had no stated religion (35.3%). The former were significantly less likely to agree with abortion than the latter for social reasons (P = 0.02) or in the case of teenage pregnancy (P = 0.006). A total of 73.8% of respondents followed-up patients after termination. Other associations were indicated, but were not statistically significant. Larger studies are needed to verify these associations for general practitioners in general.

Abortion, Induced↗

Estimating inbreeding from the Faculty Office Registers, 1534-1540.

Estimates of inbreeding are rather scarce for British populations. A number of studies, especially of Scottish island populations, have focused on pedigree analysis, whilst others have used survey methods or inference from isonymy. By comparison with continental Europe, however, little is known of the historical development of inbreeding. This is undoubtedly due to the lack of evidence from dispensations to marry blood relatives, which are routinely available in the records of marriage of the Roman Catholic church. The paper uses as its data source the Faculty Office Registers, 1534-1540, which were the product of a new system of issuing dispensations following the Dispensations Act of 1533, and which are among the earliest administrative records of the Church of England, founded as a result of Henry VIII's breach with Rome. Dispensations are recorded in the Faculty Office until 1540, when all prohibitions on marriage beyond the proscribed relationships laid down in Leviticus were lifted. The data suggest surprisingly low levels of consanguineous marriage, including a lack of first-cousin marriages. These findings are discussed in terms of the reliability of the archive, and of the social and religious views attending marriage between blood relatives in the medieval and early modern periods.

Consanguinity↗

In-vitro fertilization: the ethics.

This paper is addressed to practitioners. It seeks to acquaint them with 'ethical' arguments against their work which, because they are simple and plausible, persuade many people. These arguments are briefly rehearsed and as briefly examined. A more positive ethics of in-vitro fertilization is presented which seeks to respect (a) what is known in the relevant science and done in developing practice; (b) the inseparability of research from clinical application; (c) a moral tradition of long-standing which relates the protection of fetal life pari passu with its own morphological growth towards maturity; (d) the moral sense of properly informed persons whose judgements we trust in other areas of life. Practitioners themselves are to be defended as the proper moral agents (that is, to be entrusted with decisions) provided that they are careful (a) to keep public confidence by means of a corporate self-discipline; (b) to keep faith with patients and research subjects; (c) to maintain mutual trust between research scientists and clinical practitioners; (d) to safeguard the liberty of disciplined enquiry, of purposeful curiosity, as being inherent in the notion of a science, necessary to therapeutic advance, and proper to the nature of man. The author writes from within the theological tradition of the Church of England.

Abortion, Legal↗

When subgroups secede: extending and refining the social psychological model of schism in groups.

This article is about a field study (N=1,080) concerning the secession of a subgroup from the Church of England, and it is aimed at extending and refining the existing social psychological model of schisms in groups. It was found that the first step toward a schism is the belief that the group identity has been subverted. This belief will prompt negative emotions (i.e., dejection and agitation) and decrease both group identification and perceived group entitativity (i.e., cohesion, oneness). In turn, low group entitativity will reduce the level of group identification. Finally, low group identification and high negative emotions will increase schismatic intentions. It is also demonstrated that the negative impact of group identification, and the positive impact of negative emotions, on schismatic intentions is moderated by the perceived ability to voice dissent (i.e., the greater the perceived voice, the weaker the impact).

Adult↗