This thesis adds a new contribution to the field of empirical theology pertaining to nominalism. The thesis explores the belonging, beliefs and practice of nominal Irish Anglicans. It seeks to unearth the reasons they give for their identification with the Church of Ireland. The method used in the exploration is primarily quantitative with a brief qualitative element. The instrument employed is a questionnaire, based on the template employed by Richter and Francis and Francis and Richter on church-leaving. The thesis opens by introducing the Church of Ireland in the religious context of Ireland. The frame is widened to Europe, before examining the literature surrounding the debate on nominalism. A method is outlined to locate nominal Irish Anglicans in order to obtain and analyse their views as to their belonging, belief and practice. There follows an empirical analysis to explore the beliefs of nominal Irish Anglicans and the reasons they give for reducing their church attendance. The analysis is thematic, following the pattern used by and the earlier work of Richter and Francis (1998), Francis, Robbins and Astley (2005) and Francis and Richter (2007). This thesis concludes by offering a summary of the findings before providing an explanation as to why nominal Irish Anglicans continue their identification with the Church of Ireland. It suggests how some of the discoveries may shape future research. The thesis ends by considering the implication of the results for the Church of Ireland.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:682858 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Glenfield, Samuel Ferran |
| Publisher | University of Warwick |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/77124/ |
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