The Church of England finds itself colliding with society at large on regular occasion. Has the time come, therefore, where the advantages of being the established church are at last outweighed by the disadvantages? Is there a case for disestablishment, and if so, what might a fresh vision of the church's relationship with wider society be? Separating the question of establishment, from the question of presence in the community, Jonathan Chaplin argues that the time has come for the ending of privileged constitutional ties between the Church of England the British state. Rather than offering a smaller place for the Church of England within society, he suggests, such a separation would in fact enhance its ability to maintain an embedded presence in local parishes, and allow it the room to speak out about the deeper, bigger challenges which face society today.

Can a Christian organization with colonial roots work towards reproductive justice for Kenyan women and resist sexist interpretations of Christianity? How does a women's organization in Africa navigate controversial ethical dilemmas, while dealing with the pressures of imperialism in international development? Based on a case study of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) in Kenya, this book explores the answers to these questions. It also introduces a theoretical framework drawn from postcolonial feminist critique, narrative identity theory and the work of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians: 'everyday Christian ethics'. The book evaluates the theory's implications as a cross-disciplinary theme in feminist studies of religion and theology. Eleanor Tiplady Higgs argues that Kenya YWCA's narratives of its Christian history and constitution sustain a link between its ethical perspective and its identity. The ethical insights that emerge from these practices proclaim the relevance of the value of 'fulfilled lives', as prescribed in the New Testament, for Christian women's experiences of reproductive injustice.

In contemporary culture, accountability is usually understood in terms of holding people who have done something wrong accountable for their actions. As such, it is virtually synonymous with punishing someone. Living Accountably argues that accountability should also be understood as a significant, forward-looking virtue, an excellence possessed by those who willingly embrace being accountable to those who have proper standing, when that standing is exercised appropriately. Those who have this virtue are people who strive to live accountably. The book gives a fine-grained description of the virtue and how it is exercised, including an account of the motivational profile of the one who has the virtue. It examines the relation of accountability to other virtues, such as honesty and humility, as well as opposing vices, such as self-deception, arrogance, and servility. Though the virtue of accountability is compatible with individual autonomy, recognizing the importance of the virtue does justice to the social character of human persons. C. Stephen Evans also explores the history of this virtue in other cultures and historical eras, providing evidence that the virtue is widely recognized, even if it is somewhat eclipsed in modern western societies. Accountability is also a virtue that connects ethical life with religious life for many people, since it is common for people to have a sense that they are accountable in a global way for how they live their lives. Living Accountably explores the question as to whether global accountability can be understood in a purely secular way, as accountability to other humans, or whether it must be understood as accountability to God, or some other transcendent reality.

Inclusion has recently become a high priority issue within the development sector, brought to the fore by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development's commitment to leave no one behind. Practices within the remit of inclusion often focus on increasing access and meaningful participation, with emphasis placed on bringing those at the margins to the centre. Theologies and Practices of Inclusion challenges such centre-focused practices from a global perspective, based on research conducted within the Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation Tearfund and beyond. Offering inspiration for practitioners within the sector and faith-based organisations in particular, as well as an academic contribution to the fields of international development studies and theology, the book aims to bridge theology and practice in an accessible way. Consisting of 13 chapters and case studies, this book draws on the wisdom of a diverse team of contributors at the forefront of international development, working in a variety of contexts. These include South Africa, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Ecuador, Panama, Bolivia, the Philippines, Iraq, Egypt and the UK. Highlighting 'journey', 'change' and 'belonging' as three key aspects of inclusion, the book explores the outworking of theologies of inclusion within organisational practice. With a foreword by Ruth Valerio, and an afterword by Catriona Dejean.

This study locates Aquinas's theory of infused and acquired virtue in his foundational understanding of nature and grace. Aquinas holds that all the virtues are bestowed on humans by God along with the gift of sanctifying grace. Since he also holds, with Aristotle, that we can create virtuous dispositions in ourselves through our own repeated good acts, a question arises: How are we to understand the relationship between the virtues God infuses at the moment of grace and virtues that are gradually acquired over time? In this important book, Angela McKay Knobel provides a detailed examination of Aquinas's theory of infused moral virtue, with special attention to the question of how the infused and acquired moral virtues are related. Part 1 examines Aquinas's own explicit remarks about the infused and acquired virtues and considers whether and to what extent a coherent "theory" of the relationship between the infused and acquired virtues can be found in Aquinas. Knobel argues that while Aquinas says almost nothing about how the infused and acquired virtues are related, he clearly does believe that the "structure" of the infused virtues mirrors that of the acquired in important ways. Part 2 uses that structure to evaluate existing interpretations of Aquinas and argues that no existing account adequately captures Aquinas's most fundamental commitments. Knobel ultimately argues that the correct account lies somewhere between the two most commonly advocated theories. Written primarily for students and scholars of moral philosophy and theology, the book will also appeal to readers interested in understanding Aquinas's theory of virtue.

Recent decades have witnessed an enthusiastic retrieval of eudaimonism, according to which the virtuous life is the happy life. But the critique launched by Kant - that eudaimonism is egoistic and distorts the character of duty or obligation - has persisted. Should I develop the virtues because these are the traits I need in order to flourish? Is it facts about my own happiness that determine my obligations to others? In this book, Jennifer Herdt deftly sifts through these debates, showing why we should embrace 'ecstatic' or 'goodness-prior' eudaimonism while rejecting 'welfare-prior' forms of eudaimonism. Grasping the character of ecstatic eudaimonism, she argues, has major implications, overcoming the common assumption of a sharp break between pagan and Christian eudaimonism, as well as of a late medieval or Protestant repudiation of eudaimonism in favor of divine command theory. Agents cannot rightly respond to the goods they encounter unless they respond to them precisely as good, and not merely as a means to promoting their own welfare; in responding well, their agency is thereby necessarily perfected. In conversation with vital strands of contemporary moral philosophy, Herdt goes on to articulate the distinctive character of obligation as a feature of accountability relations among agents. Assuming Responsibility offers a fresh point of departure for theological and philosophical approaches to virtue ethics, moral agency, and the contested relationship between the good and the right.

Jeff Morgan argues that both Immanuel Kant and Soren Kierkegaard think of conscience as an individual's moral self-awareness before God, specifically before the claim God makes on each person. This innovative reading corrects prevailing views that both figures, especially Kant, lay the groundwork for the autonomous individual of modern life - that is, the atomistic individual who is accountable chiefly to themselves as their own lawmaker. This book first challenges the dismissal of conscience in 20th-century Christian ethics, often in favour of an emphasis on corporate life and corporate self-understanding. Morgan shows that this dismissal is based on a misinterpretation of Immanuel Kant's practical philosophy and moral theology, and of Soren Kierkegaard's second authorship. He does this with refreshing discussions of Stanley Hauerwas, Oliver O'Donovan, and other major figures. Morgan instead situates Kant and Kierkegaard within a broad trajectory in Christian thought in which an individual's moral self-awareness before God, as distinct from moral self-awareness before a community, is an essential feature of the Christian moral life.