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For over four hundred years Richard Hooker has been firmly attached to the Church of England and his life and writings used to promote and preserve that institution’s self-understanding. Consensus as to his theological beliefs and ecclesiastical loyalties has, however, never been reached – even though each generation of scholars has claimed to discover the 'real' Richard Hooker. In spite of the differing, and often conflicting interpretations, there have been several constants – beliefs about Hooker and his work that have remained virtually unchallenged throughout the centuries. The aim of this thesis has been to examine three of those aspects and in so doing ascertain whether their truth is more assumed than proven. The first of these assumptions is the fundamental belief that Hooker is attached securely to the English Church and that their identities are so interwoven that to speak of one is to speak of the other. The second is that Hooker’s prose – his unique writing style and powerful rhetoric – can be ignored in the process of determining his theology. And thirdly, the widely-held belief that, as the 'champion of reason', Hooker’s faith is essentially rational and that God is perceived and experienced primarily through the intellect. Challenging the truth of each of these statements leads to an uncertainty about Hooker that, rather than negating scholarship, allows research to be liberated from the dominance of categorisation. Such a change would acknowledge that Hooker's theology transcends Anglican studies and would allow his radical thinking to reach a wider audience.

As a former urban development manager and now a minister in the Church of England, I offer this thesis as a theological reflection on the church’s engagement in the urban development process. By bringing together an understanding of urban policy with a hermeneutical reflection, a missional rationale is offered to the church in the context of urban change. The Pastoral Cycle model of learning is used based on five key stages: First, through immersion in the experience of the church’s interaction with London’s Thames Gateway project, three core themes are identified: promoting human flourishing, mediating tension and representing hope. Second, an understanding of these three core themes is explored in a social analysis of urban development policy and the Church of England’s engagement with urban development in the past. Third, a Biblical hermeneutic is offered based on Jeremiah. 29v7 where God calls on his people ‘to seek the shalom of the city where I place you into exile.’ Links are made with the three core themes, as the community of God are called: to seek not only human flourishing but shalom; to mediate the tensions of a city that is not their own; and to represent God’s hope in the midst of change. Fourth, the core themes are developed into a transformative strategy based on partnership with others to promote shalom, helping foster civil society by mediating tension and creating social justice, and representing God’s hope for their future. Three agents of transformation who deliver this strategy are then identified: the workplace chaplain, the church based community worker and the parish priest. Finally, in a return to praxis, the transformative strategy is re-evaluated based on the learning experiences of these agents of change in Longbridge, Birmingham. This leads to a call for a collaborative approach to church engagement. Lessons learned here will help the church engage better with the urban development agenda. As a result, the church’s agents of change are better able to work closer together to promote shalom, mediate tension and represent hope.

This thesis traces the development of the idea of non-stipendiary ministry (NSM) in the Church of England from 1833, when it was first mooted by Thomas Arnold, to the present day. Four phases of development are identified and examined: first, the nineteenth century, when proposals to open the diaconate to men in secular employment were under discussion; second, the period leading up to the major discussion of the idea at the Lambeth Conference of 1930; third, the period leading up to the institutional establishment of 'Auxiliary Pastoral Ministry' in 1970; and fourth, the subsequent period of growth and development of NSM in practice. The method adopted is to analyse relevant debates in Convocation, Church Assembly and General Synod, together with relevant published material; new unpublished material from archives in Brisbane Diocese, Church House, Westminster, Lambeth Palace, and Selly Oak Library, as well as from the private papers of Roland Allen, is presented and analysed; the influence of developments in Anglican Churches overseas, of the World Council of Churches and of the French Worker-Priest Movement is assessed; the influence of certain key figures is examined, including that of Thomas Arnold, Walter Hook, William Hale, William Bright, Herbert Kelly, Roland Allen, F. R. Barry, Mervyn Stockwood, John Robinson, Lesslie Newbigin and E. R. Wickham. Factors influencing the development of the idea at each successive phase are identified, the most salient of which are: pressure for each local community to be self-sufficient in ministry, for the Church to offer ministry in a style and expression congruent with working-class culture, for the removal of the divide between clergy and laity, for the Church to offer meaningful witness in 'the world of work', and for supplementary ordained assistance for the diminishing numbers of stipendiary clergy. But throughout the period examined, constant restraints are shown to have been operating, restricting the smooth development of the idea. Chief amongst these are the protective reactions of the clerical profession and the over-riding influence of the parochial system. Finally, particular structural factors inhibiting the development of ministry in secular employment are identified.

This study is the account of an empirical research programme in practical theology exploring the potential of the Book of Psalms to facilitate the spiritual journey of a sample of University of Edinburgh students aged between twenty and thirty who are on or beyond the fringes of the churches. Drawing upon some insights of the Bible Society movement regarding ‘scripture engagement,’ and in the wider context of increasing interest in spirituality and decreasing confidence in the churches among many westernised young adults, the project seeks to answer two research questions. First, how far does creative engagement with specific psalm texts in the form of a semi-structured three-week meditative spiritual journey facilitate the quest of contemporary young adults for personal meaning and spiritual enlightenment? Second, what does this study contribute to the current debate among the Bible Societies and other Bible agencies concerning the nature of Scripture engagement? In the first part of the thesis I review the debate on Scripture engagement, exploring the contemporary sacred landscape, and elucidating why the Book of Psalms was chosen for this exercise. Additionally, I develop the theological-cultural framework employed in interpreting the data. In the second part I describe respondents’ meditative engagement with six psalms and identify six main findings. These findings are: that ‘subjective-life’ and ‘likeas’ modes of spirituality coexist in some respondents and that the subjectivism of the psalms provides a bridge between them; that the cursing psalms, although considered by many respondents to be unacceptable, have potential to foster non-violence in conflict situations; that a desire to resolve suffering is a feature of the self-identity of many respondents; that meditating on the psalms fosters faith commonly as a generic process and particularly as theological trust; that interacting with psalmic texts helps to resolve the disorientation often experienced when facing confusing lifestyle choices; that meditating on the psalms provides space in which to reflect on the moral ambiguities of life. In the third part I evaluate the findings, concluding that the creative engagement between respondents and text results from respondents discovering that the psalms resonate with their idealism and basic human needs in ways that facilitate their ongoing spiritual quest for meaning and enlightenment, as well as providing an opportunity to confront God with complaints and dilemmas. I question some of the prevailing thinking on Scripture engagement for being too exclusively outcomes oriented, and suggest that meditative engagement with psalms could become a gateway to interacting with other biblical texts. My subsidiary findings are: that respondents believe audio texts enhance their use of print, appreciate the perspective psalm meditation provides on contemporary events and trends, are fascinated by psalmic metaphor, and find some readers’ helps more useful than others. I indicate areas where further research would be useful and outline some future directions that the Bible agencies might fruitfully follow in developing Scripture engagement resources for the churches.

The aim of the thesis is to demonstrate the significance of ordinary prayer for the study of ordinary theology, as conceived by Astley (2002), and to make an original contribution to research in this field. For this purpose, in part one, the thesis begins by establishing the relationship between ordinary theology and ordinary prayer, followed by a review and evaluation of empirical studies relevant to ordinary prayer. These studies are organised according to five themes: who prays, when people pray, the subjective effects of prayer, the objective effects of prayer, and the content of prayer. Part one concludes with a consideration of the significance of the empirical prayer studies for the understanding of ordinary theology and ordinary theologians, and demonstrates their practical importance to the Church. Based on the evidence gathered thus far, a new methodology is proposed, which supports the detailed study of ordinary prayer content found in prayer requests left in churches. The new methodology involves the development of an analytical framework designed to explore the content of ordinary prayer through the three components of reference, intention, and objective. In part two, the analytical framework is employed in five case studies: two case studies test the general framework through the analysis of two different sets of prayer requests; one case study uses the general framework to explore ordinary prayer and implicit religion; and two case studies use modifications of the intention component of the framework in order to provide focused studies relating to ordinary prayer and health and well-being and to ordinary prayer and the activity of God in the world. The thesis concludes with an evaluative summary of the contribution of ordinary prayer to ordinary theology in general and the contribution of the new methodology to the study of ordinary prayer and ordinary theology in particular.

‘We don’t do God’, Alastair Campbell famously said of UK government policy-making. In contrast, Anglican Bishops at the 2008 Lambeth Conference committed themselves to reflect on contextualising their faith, and pursue their conclusions in public ethical discourse. This thesis proposes that the Bishops (and others) may justifiably pursue this two-fold course, through the application, reinterpretation and development of Alasdair MacIntyre's tradition-based moral reasoning. I contend that the validity of a MacIntyrean approach in contextualising Christianity is readily apparent; and can shed light on Anglican differences around human sexuality. Through distinguishing between MacIntyre’s ‘utopian’ theory and his practical requirement merely to be ‘good enough’ to ‘go on and go further’, I argue that we find effective resources for extensive moral rational engagement with other traditions, and, more surprisingly, within liberal democracy. This, I agree with Jeffrey Stout, has the potential to operate, to a useful degree, as akin to a ‘tradition’. I then outline how the Bishops can best pursue substantive, rational, ethical dialogue, first, with other communities of tradition; second, with those groupings, widespread throughout society, which, though not fully-fledged communities of tradition, nonetheless sufficiently reflect them to be able to sustain some degree of moral debate; and third, through developing MacIntyre's appropriation of Aquinas’ work on Natural Law, in circumstances that, or among those who, uphold no tradition. In each case, I argue the potential is greater than MacIntyre allows, and, importantly, is enhanced by constructive engagement, which it is therefore generally a morally rational obligation to pursue. With examples drawn primarily from the work of Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, I point to practical ways in which my proposed MacIntyrean praxis can both strengthen the Church’s engagement in public discourse, and enhance the nature of the public space as a place for pursuing the common good.