This study indicates that several common assumptions about Anglican pew-renting are unrealistic. Although many critics writing in the nineteenth century, and some historians since, believe that rented sittings in Anglican churches were filled by the very rich and the upper-middle class, the evidence strongly indicates that the primary renters were from the middle-middle and lower-middle classes, particularly small business owners. Also contrary to popular belief, pew-letting continued in many churches well into the twentieth century, in some instances into the 1950s and 1960s, and one Anglican church in the British Isles has continued to rent sittings into the twenty-first century. This is qualified, though, by the finding that those churches that rented sittings persisted in the practice for longer than was expected, but the number of new churches which instituted seat-letting systems dwindled, particularly in the last three decades of the nineteenth century. Pew-renting is also seen to have been most often practiced in large urban churches of low-church orientation. The findings further suggest that most churches abolished pew-rents in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, not for philosophical or charitable reasons, but because profits diminished to the point at which the cost and trouble of administering a system of pew-rents could not economically justify the revenue produced. Finally, this study has uncovered some evidence both of private pew-renting in addition to proprietary chapels, and of informal pew-renting in the form of tips paid to pew-openers and other officials for preferred seating for a single church service. Examples of dishonest behaviour by church officials are also given.

This thesis asks what might be revealed from a Practical Theology conversation between historical texts and contemporary Christian Science experience about healing theologies and practices. Certain enduring theological ideas (God's goodness and omnipotence, the deceptiveness and impotence of evil, and a correlation between healing and salvation) explain these Christian healing practices. I investigate such ideas and practices using a Practical Theology methodology that accommodates an epistemological contrast and enables meaningful analysis of the ideas. This 'critical conversation' between the Secret Revelation of John, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and myself as an autoethnographic 'text,' draws out comparisons and contrasting ideas of Christian healing. The three parts of the thesis reflect moments of 'conversation': (1) an overview of the conversation's structure and identification of its partners; (2) a detailed conversation between the two historical texts based on three key themes (the enduring theological ideas mentioned above), and (3) engaging my experience as a twenty-first-century 'text' in conversation with the same themes in epistemologically contrasting contexts. I conclude that understanding theological views from contrasting epistemologies is a constructive means for expanding mutual understanding of Christian healing practices with great potential benefit to scholarly and ecumenical audiences.

The thesis begins in the author’s exposure to the inculturation issue as an adult theological educator in Africa and then in UK. The contemporary UK church faces a dilemma of ‘gospel’ and culture as sharp as in Africa. The research question is posed for the UK context as; is it possible to develop an educational course that will deliver inculturation, and if so what would be good practice within it? A cyclical ‘Kolbian’ methodology is chosen for the field research. It consists of three case studies of adult theological education courses which deal obliquely with the interaction of faith and culture in UK; a) the Alpha course in three different cultural contexts; b) A Lent Course linking a UK and African Diocese; c) the Education for Ministry course, in particular its imaginative methods of theological reflection. The case studies occur in series, rather than in parallel, as ‘research journey cycles.’ All the case studies make important conclusions leading to an affirmative response to the research question. Significant learning regarding good practice in pedagogy for inculturation is developed; imagination is presented as of primary importance. The thesis raises fundamental questions about hermeneutics which bridge inculturation and adult education. The individual nature of educational courses provides a limit to the conclusions.

This thesis examines the history of Anglican and the Methodist churches’ collaboration in Western Nigeria during the era of the missionaries and after. The intention is to establish the approach that the early foreign missionaries bequeathed to the mission-oriented churches has been a particular problem, which has inhibited the emergence of a truly African or Nigerian form of unity particularly between the Anglican and the Methodist churches. A critical evaluation of the churches’ collaboration in Nigeria would suggest that what obtains is institutional and doctrinal unity introduced by the missionaries. While this study appreciates and commends the efforts of the early missionaries for laying these collaborative and ecumenical foundations, the study holds that it does not go far enough especially in attaining its potential to positively affect the sociocultural, religious and political challenges facing contemporary Nigeria society. Such an effective collaborative spirit is achievable only when it is contextualized, employing local and indigenous approaches including indigenous theological education. This thesis does not condemn western contributions because there are aspects of western culture that are still relevant in the context of global collaboration. However, it stresses the need for the understanding of ecumenical collaboration from different cultures particularly in Yoruba speaking region of Nigeria, so that, instead of looking up too much to the West for leadership in ecumenism, it should grow in the Nigerian climate and culture

This thesis explores how Venice's church architecture was shaped by the Counter Reformation between 1550-1700. It provides a snapshot of the situation with four pertinent case studies representing the broad spectrum of Venice's churches. Chapter One focuses on San Nicolo di Ldo, a church that was part of the proactive Cassinese Congregation. The church was rebuilt entirely and represents an almost ideal response to the Counter Reformation. Chapter Two looks at the rebuilt parish church of San Moise and it tackles the compromises that inevitably came with many competing factors. Chapters Three and Four look at how older churches were renewed and retrofitted with new features, adapting their existing structures to cater for new requirements as stipulated by the Council of Trent decrees or pamphlets such as Carlo Borromeo's Instructiones. Chapter Three hones in on Santo Stefano, a large monastic Gothic church, while Chapter Four looks at the considerably smaller Byzantine parish church of San Nicolo dei Mendicoli. This thesis highlights many similarities between the four buildings (and others in Venice), which exemplify key facets of the reform movement and the pluralistic and complex challenges faced by each church.

The purpose of the thesis is to design an evaluation model which could be used to improve the quality of Sunday schools in Korea. Various evaluation theories that are current outside the church were examined and evaluated to see whether they were amenable to modification to serve the church’s interest in Sunday Schools. The adapted theories were put into practice and tested to see whether the resultant model of evaluation was fit for practical use [or not] in a church setting by doing a number of case studies. Recently the church has had to face severe criticism from the wider Korean society. In order to overcome these problems, the thesis examines the purpose of Sunday school education, which is essentially based on the pursuit of faith conceived more holistically, and considers the improvement needed to deliver quality education in Sunday schools. For this purpose, it tries to devise an evaluation model that establishes a clear understanding of the present state of Sunday schools whilst also suggesting how these schools might change and develop the quality of their education. In order to achieve the quality improvement of Sunday schools, this thesis considers QM (Quality Management) as the main theoretical basis of an evaluation model, because both the kind of analysis and improvement which are used in QM, were shown to be suitable and applicable to a Sunday school setting whilst providing a basis for a continuous improvement in quality. The thesis demonstrates the suitability of this model with regard to its practical application in the field by testing it in individual Sunday schools, which together represent the range of Korean Sunday schools that one might encounter. Also, it critically considers those parts and processes of the evaluation model which should be changed in response to the issues that arose during the case studies.

After 171 years of British colonial rule, Hong Kong has developed its distinct identity, with a laissez-faire economy, freedom of the individual, and the rule of law, in contrast with the historical experience of mainland China. Combined with the tragic experience of the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989, this led the people of Hong Kong to the fear of reintegration, creating a mindset of ‘binary opposition’ among the people of Hong Kong. The contested identities destabilise mutual trust and encourage local resistance against the ‘encroachment’ from China. This thesis looks beyond the identity of binary opposition and argues that to resist China’s re-absorption is not necessary to take the form of antagonism. The mode of hybridity is not only a useful strategy to resist national assimilation, but also creates the necessary space for the possibility of cultural reconciliation. Christian churches, part of the ambiguous colonial tradition and recent opposition, could become such a space for reconciliation if they can learn from the Biblical experience as well as contextual theologies in other parts of Asia.

The work aims to demonstrate that at the heart of Eriugena’s approach to Christian theology there lies a profoundly philosophical interest in the necessity of a cardinal shift in the paradigms of thinking – namely, that from the metaphysical to the dialectical one, which wins him a reputation of the ‘Hegel of the ninth century,’ as scholars in Post-Hegelian Germany called him. The prime concern of Eriugena’s discourse is to prove that the actual adoption of the salvific truth of Christ’s revelation about all humans’ Sonship to God (resulting in their return to union with Him) directly depends on the way the truth of God’s Oneness is consistently thought of. It is exactly the dialectic of the universal and particular which allows Eriugena both to tackle the dichotomy between being and non-being (called by him the fundamental division) and to proceed towards raising a question how the totality of God’s being can be approached so as to let him radically reconsider a predominantly metaphysical view of creation the theological reflection traditionally relies on. According to the dialectical understanding of unity (with a strong appeal to a dialectically coherent treatment of contradiction) that Eriugena does adhere to, the reality of creation cannot be thought of, and therefore known, otherwise than in the way of being inseparable from the universal Principle of all. This is the Principle abandoned by nothing, unless the mind corrupted by the senses thinks otherwise and, following the metaphysical pattern of dichotomy (as that of the fundamental division), improperly sets the creation and its Principle apart. Restoration of the mind to the proper rational motion of recta ratio (right reason) freed, as Eriugena argues, from the dictates of senses therefore becomes the way of both the epistemological breakthrough to the infinite whole and practical return (reditus) from the world of finite things (the corrupt mind’s construct) to living in the divine reality of creation. The work’s argument is based on the assumption of close affinity between Eriugena’s discourse and that of his Islamic contemporaries (Allaf, al-Nazzam, al-Kindi, and others), who developed their dialectical ideas within the Mu’tazilah tradition of a philosophically disciplined approach to the truth of God’s Oneness. In particular, al-Nazzam’s engagement with Parmenides’ Periphyseon and his resistance to the danger of a dualistic interpretation of its ontology seem to provoke Eriugena’s innovative approach to Christian theology with a view to suggesting a mode of overcoming dualism as the main obstacle on the way to the Truth revealed. This vision of the meaning of Eriugena’s undertaking allows us not only to better understand the novelty of his approach to Christian theology, but also reconsider some of the key points of his discourse that seem to have become a sort of commonplace in Eriugenian studies: 1. Unlike the prevalent opinion, not the forms of the division of Nature but the modes of interpreting being and non-being are to be understood to constitute the genuine subject-matter of each book of the Periphyseon and, hence, of the five parts of his system. 2. The fourfold division of Nature is to be interpreted not as a basic structure of the system offered by Eriugena, but as a means of introducing dialectic to the body of theology by refuting Augustine’s metaphysical vision of a hierarchical model of the universe and indicating the way of resolution of the cardinally theological contradiction – God does and does not create at the same time. 3. All this gives reason to disagree with a general tendency of associating Eriugena’s work with exploration of the division of God’s Nature and to reinterpret it as an immense anti-division project to be understood as an important turn in the history of Christian thought entirely focused on the truth of God’s Oneness and human life in conformity to it. *** I affirm that this thesis is entirely my own work and has not been submitted for examination in any form elsewhere.

This thesis places Black Consciousness in comparative perspective with progressive politics in South Africa in the late 1960s and the 1970s. It argues that the dominant scholarly focus on Black Consciousness, which is passed over as a ‘stage' in the Black struggle against white supremacy, insufficiently historicises the deeper roots, and the wider resonances and ideological contestations of the Black Consciousness movement. As they refined their political discourse, Black Consciousness activists negotiated their way through the progressive ideologies that flourished as part of the wider political and social ferment of the 1960s. Although Black Consciousness won over an influential minority of radical Christians, a more contested struggle took place with nascent feminism on university campuses and within the Movement; as well as with a New Left-inspired historical and political critique that gained influence among white activists. The thesis draws closer attention to the ways in which Black Consciousness challenged white activists in the late 1960s, who were primarily able, albeit it with pain and difficulty, to sympathetically interpret and finally endorse Black Consciousness. The thesis challenges the idea that Black Consciousness achieved a complete ‘break' with white liberals, and argues that black and white activists maintained a dialogue after the black students' breakaway from the National Union of South African Students in 1968. The thesis looks in turn at: the role played by the ecumenical movement in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s; student and religious radicalism in the 1960s; second wave feminism and its challenge to Black Consciousness; the development of Black Theology, and the relationship between Black Consciousness activists and the ecumenical Christian Institute; it closes with a study of the interplay between intellectuals Steve Biko and Richard Turner in Durban, and the significance of white students' and Black Consciousness activists' interaction in that city in the 1970s.

This thesis considers the world of Christian faith, as expressed by a particular social group of which I have been a part since 1998, as an alternative knowledge system. Focusing upon the lives of a number of key agents, including myself, I argue that at the heart of this knowledge system is a charismatic relationship, in the Weberian sense, with a divine Other. This relationship is freely entered into, is conceived as involving movement into or towards an embodied experiential and relational knowledge of God, and is often expressed by participants through such metaphors as a ‘journey', ‘adventure' or ‘quest'. My original contribution to knowledge is in taking a sociological concept, Weber's notion of the charismatic relation, and innovatively applying this framework to the relation between humans and a transcendent or disembodied ‘Other'. My work responds to a) recent ‘ontological' challenges within anthropology to ‘take seriously' other worlds, b) invitations to those with strong religious convictions to practise anthropology without feeling that they need to lose those convictions, and c) recent debates within the anthropology of Christianity concerning how to deal with the agential characteristics of non-human/spiritual beings within ethnographic work. Through a reflexive exploration of experience, I examine how certain Christian people constitute their lives, observing how charismatic devotion to a divine Other implies both a sensorium that extends beyond the corporeal senses, as well as the ‘planting' of various conceptual seeds that, by providing concrete metaphors of what life is, shape the lives of those willing to ‘receive' them. As social actors seek to maintain ‘openness' to this divine Other, a transformational journey results, in which human perception and conception are continually open to renewal. As a reflexive ethnographic account from within such an alternative knowledge system, this thesis makes an original contribution to phenomenological and sensory studies, as well as contributing to anthropological work on Christianity.