Focusing on the important relationship between the 'sacred' and the 'secular', this book demonstrates that it is not paradoxical to think in terms of both secular and sacred or neither, in different times and places. International experts from a range of disciplinary perspectives draw on local, national, and international contexts to provide a fresh analytical approach to understanding these two contested poles. Exploring such phenomena at an individual, institutional, or theoretical level, each chapter contributes to the central message of the book - that the 'in between' is real, embodied and experienced every day and informs, and is informed by, intersecting social identities. Social Identities between the Sacred and the Secular provides an essential resource for continued research into these concepts, challenging us to re-think where the boundaries of sacred and secular lie and what may lie between.

Helps new researchers get started and help more established academics to improve publishing and funding success rates. Provides inside stories and real-life examples to give tangible evidence of techniques, and how-to approaches that make this book approachable, relevant, and practical. Provides details on two inextricably linked areas of publication and funding that underpin a successful academic career.

The Religious Lives of Older Laywomen draws on ethnographic fieldwork, cross-cultural comparisons, and relevant theories exploring the beliefs, identities, and practices of 'Generation A'-Anglican laywomen born in the 1920s and 1930s. Now in their 70s, 80s, and 90s, they are often described as the 'backbone' of the Church and likely its final active generation. The prevalence of laywomen in mainstream Christian congregations is a widely accepted phenomenon that will cause little surprise amongst the research community or Christian adherents. What is surprising is that we know so little about them. Generation A laywomen have remained largely invisible in previous work on institutional religion in Euro-American countries, particularly as the focus on religion and gender has turned to youth, sexuality, and priesthood. Female Christian Generation A is on the cusp of a catastrophic decline in mainstream Christianity that accelerated during the 'post-war' (post-1945) age. The age profile of mainstream Christianity represents an increasingly aging pattern, with Generation A not being replaced by their children or grandchildren-the Baby-Boomers and generations X, Y, and Z. Generation A is irreplaceable and unique. 'Generation' shares specific values, beliefs, behaviours, and orientations, therefore, when this generation finally disappears within the next five to 10 years, their knowledge, insights, and experiences will be lost forever. Abby Day both documents and interprets their religious lives and what we can learn about them and more widely, about contemporary Christianity and its future.

Helps new researchers get started and help more established academics to improve publishing and funding success rates. Provides inside stories and real-life examples to give tangible evidence of techniques, and how-to approaches that make this book approachable, relevant, and practical. Provides details on two inextricably linked areas of publication and funding that underpin a successful academic career.

What does religion mean to the individual? How are people religious and what do their beliefs, practices and identities mean to them? The individual's place within studies of religion has tended to be overlooked recently in favour of macro analyses. Religion and the Individual draws together authors from around the world to explore belief, practice and identity. Using original case studies and other work firmly placed in the empirical, contributors discuss what religious belief means to the individual. They examine how people embody what religion means to them through practice, considering the different meanings that people attach to religion and the social expressions of their personal understandings and the ways in which religion shapes how people see themselves in relation to others. This work is cross-cultural, with contributions from Asia, Europe and North America.

The first sociology of religion textbook to begin the task of diversifying and decolonizing the study of religion, Sociology of Religion develops a sociological frame that draws together the personal, political and public, showing how religion - its origins, development and changes - is understood as a social institution, influenced by and influencing wider social structures. Organized along sociological structures and themes, the book works with examples from a variety of religious traditions and regions rather than focusing in depth on a selection, and foregrounds cultural practice-based understandings of religion. It is therefore a book about 'religion', not 'religions', that explores the relationship of religion with gender and sexuality, crime and violence, generations, politics and media, 'race', ethnicity and social class, disease and disability - highlighting the position of religion in social justice and equality. Each chapter of this book is framed around concrete case studies from a variety of Western and non-Western religious traditions. Students will benefit from thinking about the discipline across a range of geographical and religious contexts. The book includes features designed to engage and inspire students: Up-to-date and comprehensive analysis of engaging and accessible material 'Case Examples': short summaries of empirical examples relating to the chapter themes Visually distinct boxes with bullet points, key words and phrases focusing on the context Questions suitable for private or seminar study Suggested class exercises for instructors to use Suggested readings and further readings/online resources at the end of each chapter Following a review and critique of early sociology of religion, the book engages with more contemporary issues, such as dissolving the secular/sacred binary and paying close attention to issues of epistemology, negotiations, marginalities, feminisms, identities, power, nuances, globalization, (post) (multiple) modernity (ies), emotion, structuration, reflexivity, intersectionality and urbanization. This book is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students exploring the sociology of religion, religion and society, religious studies, theology, globalization and human geography.

The first sociology of religion textbook to begin the task of diversifying and decolonizing the study of religion, Sociology of Religion develops a sociological frame that draws together the personal, political and public, showing how religion – its origins, development and changes – is understood as a social institution, influenced by and influencing wider social structures. Organized along sociological structures and themes, the book works with examples from a variety of religious traditions and regions rather than focusing in depth on a selection, and foregrounds cultural practice-based understandings of religion. It is therefore a book about ‘religion’, not ‘religions’, that explores the relationship of religion with gender and sexuality, crime and violence, generations, politics and media, ‘race’, ethnicity and social class, disease and disability – highlighting the position of religion in social justice and equality. Each chapter of this book is framed around concrete case studies from a variety of Western and non-Western religious traditions. Students will benefit from thinking about the discipline across a range of geographical and religious contexts. The book includes features designed to engage and inspire students: Up-to-date and comprehensive analysis of engaging and accessible material ‘Case Examples’: short summaries of empirical examples relating to the chapter themes Visually distinct boxes with bullet points, key words and phrases focusing on the context Questions suitable for private or seminar study Suggested class exercises for instructors to use Suggested readings and further readings/online resources at the end of each chapter Following a review and critique of early sociology of religion, the book engages with more contemporary issues, such as dissolving the secular/sacred binary and paying close attention to issues of epistemology, negotiations, marginalities, feminisms, identities, power, nuances, globalization, (post) (multiple) modernity (ies), emotion, structuration, reflexivity, intersectionality and urbanization. This book is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students exploring the sociology of religion, religion and society, religious studies, theology, globalization and human geography.

Contemporary Issues in the Worldwide Anglican Communion offers unique perspectives on an organisation undergoing significant and rapid change with important religious and wider sociological consequences. The book explores what the academic research community, Anglican clergy and laypeople are suggesting are critical issues facing the Anglican communion as power and authority relations shift, including: gender roles, changing families, challenges of an aging population, demands and opportunities generated by young people, mobility and mutations of worship communities; contested conformities to policies surrounding sexual orientation, impact of social class and income differences, variable patterns of congregational growth and decline, and global power and growth shifts from north to south.

Grace Davie, one of the world's most influential scholars in contemporary sociology of religion, has furthered a tradition developed by David Martin and others in comparative sociology of religion and modernity in European and international perspective. Davie's writings on belief and belonging, particularly in a context outside active Church participation, have contributed important understandings of the cultural role of religion as memory and practice in contemporary European societies. Through her most recent work on new roles of religion in relation to the political, legal and welfare sectors of society, she has addressed debates on the resurgence of religion and the 'post-secular condition'. Modernities, Memory and Mutations presents an overview and critical engagement with contemporary themes in the sociology of religion which will inform current and forthcoming generations of scholars. Reflecting on how Grace Davie's contributions have influenced their own work and wider debates in the field, leading international scholars engage with themes Davie has critically explored across religious studies and mainstream sociology evolving a new research agenda for sociology of religion.

This book gives advice on writing and successful publication following completion of the research project and features real-life case studies and interviews throughout. It explains how to build and maintain a relationship with the research partner, thereby assisting future research.

Now in its second edition, this internationally best-selling book has been revised and updated. It focuses on helping people overcome some of the most common obstacles to successful publication. Lack of time? An unconscious fear of rejection? Conflicting priorities? In this, the first book to address the subject, Abby Day explains how to overcome these obstacles and create publishable papers for journals most likely to publish them. She shows how to identify a suitable journal and how to plan, prepare and compile a paper that will satisfy its requirements. She pays particular attention to the creative aspects of the process. As an experienced journal editor and publisher, Dr Day is well placed to reveal the inside workings of the reviewing procedure - and the more fully you understand this, the greater the chance that what you submit will be accepted and published. For academic and research staff, in whatever discipline, a careful study of Dr Day's book could be your first step on the road to publication.

Focusing on the important relationship between the 'sacred' and the 'secular', this book demonstrates that it is not paradoxical to think in terms of both secular and sacred or neither, in different times and places. International experts from a range of disciplinary perspectives draw on local, national, and international contexts to provide a fresh analytical approach to understanding these two contested poles. Exploring such phenomena at an individual, institutional, or theoretical level, each chapter contributes to the central message of the book - that the 'in between' is real, embodied and experienced every day and informs, and is informed by, intersecting social identities. Social Identities between the Sacred and the Secular provides an essential resource for continued research into these concepts, challenging us to re-think where the boundaries of sacred and secular lie and what may lie between.

What does religion mean to the individual? How are people religious and what do their beliefs, practices and identities mean to them? The individual's place within studies of religion has tended to be overlooked recently in favour of macro analyses. Religion and the Individual draws together authors from around the world to explore belief, practice and identity. Using original case studies and other work firmly placed in the empirical, contributors discuss what religious belief means to the individual. They examine how people embody what religion means to them through practice, considering the different meanings that people attach to religion and the social expressions of their personal understandings and the ways in which religion shapes how people see themselves in relation to others. This work is cross-cultural, with contributions from Asia, Europe and North America.

The ability to produce valid research has never been more crucial to the academic community, but how do you go about getting the funding for such projects? How do you identify which funding organisations are likely to be sympathetic to your needs, and convince them that they will benefit from funding you?

Believing in Belonging draws on empirical research exploring mainstream religious belief and identity in Euro-American countries. Starting from a qualitative study based in northern England, and then broadening the data to include other parts of Europe and North America, Abby Day explores how people 'believe in belonging', choosing religious identifications to complement other social and emotional experiences of 'belongings'. The concept of 'performative belief' helps explain how otherwise non-religious people can bring into being a Christian identity related to social belongings. What is often dismissed as 'nominal' religious affiliation is far from an empty category, but one loaded with cultural 'stuff' and meaning. Day introduces an original typology of natal, ethnic and aspirational nominalism that challenges established disciplinary theory in both the European and North American schools of the sociology of religion that assert that most people are 'unchurched' or 'believe without belonging' while privately maintaining beliefs in God and other 'spiritual' phenomena. This study provides a unique analysis and synthesis of anthropological and sociological understandings of belief and proposes a holistic, organic, multidimensional analytical framework to allow rich cross cultural comparisons. Chapters focus in particular on: the genealogies of 'belief' in anthropology and sociology, methods for researching belief without asking religious questions, the acts of claiming cultural identity, youth, gender, the 'social' supernatural, fate and agency, morality and a development of anthropocentric and theocentric orientations that provides a richer understanding of belief than conventional religious/secular distinctions.

Believing in Belonging draws on empirical research exploring mainstream religious belief and identity in Euro-American countries. Starting from a qualitative study based in northern England, and then broadening the data to include other parts of Europe and North America, Abby Day explores how people "believe in belonging," choosing religious identifications to complement other social and emotional experiences of "belongings." The concept of "performative belief" helps explain how otherwise non-religious people can bring into being a Christian identity related to social belongings.
What is often dismissed as "nominal" religious affiliation is far from an empty category, but one loaded with cultural "stuff" and meaning. Day introduces an original typology of natal, ethnic and aspirational nominalism that challenges established disciplinary theory in both the European and North American schools of the sociology of religion that assert that most people are "unchurched" or "believe without belonging" while privately maintaining beliefs in God and other "spiritual" phenomena.
This study provides a unique analysis and synthesis of anthropological and sociological understandings of belief and proposes a holistic, organic, multidimensional analytical framework to allow rich cross cultural comparisons. Chapters focus in particular on: the genealogies of "belief" in anthropology and sociology, methods for researching belief without asking religious questions, the acts of claiming cultural identity, youth, gender, the "social" supernatural, fate and agency, morality and a development of anthropocentric and theocentric orientations that provides a richer understanding of belief than conventional religious/secular distinctions.

Grace Davie, one of the world's most influential scholars in contemporary sociology of religion, has furthered a tradition developed by David Martin and others in comparative sociology of religion and modernity in European and international perspective. Davie's writings on belief and belonging, particularly in a context outside active Church participation, have contributed important understandings of the cultural role of religion as memory and practice in contemporary European societies. Through her most recent work on new roles of religion in relation to the political, legal and welfare sectors of society, she has addressed debates on the resurgence of religion and the 'post-secular condition'. Modernities, Memory and Mutations presents an overview and critical engagement with contemporary themes in the sociology of religion which will inform current and forthcoming generations of scholars. Reflecting on how Grace Davie's contributions have influenced their own work and wider debates in the field, leading international scholars engage with themes Davie has critically explored across religious studies and mainstream sociology evolving a new research agenda for sociology of religion.

Contemporary Issues in the Worldwide Anglican Communion offers unique perspectives on an organisation undergoing significant and rapid change with important religious and wider sociological consequences. The book explores what the academic research community, Anglican clergy and laypeople are suggesting are critical issues facing the Anglican communion as power and authority relations shift, including: gender roles, changing families, challenges of an aging population, demands and opportunities generated by young people, mobility and mutations of worship communities; contested conformities to policies surrounding sexual orientation, impact of social class and income differences, variable patterns of congregational growth and decline, and global power and growth shifts from north to south.

Now in its second edition, this internationally best-selling book has been revised and updated. It focuses on helping people overcome some of the most common obstacles to successful publication. Lack of time? An unconscious fear of rejection? Conflicting priorities? In this, the first book to address the subject, Abby Day explains how to overcome these obstacles and create publishable papers for journals most likely to publish them. She shows how to identify a suitable journal and how to plan, prepare and compile a paper that will satisfy its requirements. She pays particular attention to the creative aspects of the process. As an experienced journal editor and publisher, Dr Day is well placed to reveal the inside workings of the reviewing procedure - and the more fully you understand this, the greater the chance that what you submit will be accepted and published. For academic and research staff, in whatever discipline, a careful study of Dr Day's book could be your first step on the road to publication.

Mocked, vilified, blamed, and significantly misunderstood - the 'Baby Boomers' are members of the generation of post-WWII babies who came of age in the 1960s. Parents of the 1940s and 1950s raised their Boomer children to be respectable church-attendees, and yet in some ways demonstrated an ambivalence that permitted their children to spurn religion and eventually to raise their own children to be the least religious generation ever. The Baby Boomers studied here, living in the UK and Canada, were the last generation to have been routinely baptised and taken regularly to mainstream, Anglican churches. So, what went wrong - or, perhaps, right? This study, based on in-depth interviews and compared to other studies and data, is the first to offer a sociological account of the sudden transition from religious parents to non-religious children and grandchildren, focusing exclusively on this generation of ex-Anglican Boomers. Now in their 60s and 70s, the Boomers featured here make sense of their lives and the world they helped create. They discuss how they continue to dis-believe in God yet have an easy relationship with ghosts, and how they did not, as theologians often claim, fall into an immoral self-centred abyss. They forged different practices and sites (whether in 'this world' or 'elsewhere') of meaning, morality, community, and transcendence. They also reveal here the values, practices, and beliefs they transmitted to the future generations, helping shape the non-religious identities of Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z.