Evangelical Identity and Contemporary Culture

Building on an ethnographic study of St. Michael-le-Belfrey Church in York, a recognized leader in charismatic renewal, mission, and evangelical innovation since the 1960s, this book explores how a persistent tradition of cultural engagement may generate growth, while at the same time bringing about significant changes in the structure and function of the evangelical congregation, and in the social construction of Christian identity itself. This is the first sociological study of St. Michael-le-Belfrey and the first to take seriously the question of how blazing the trail in terms of mission, worship, and fellowship influences the way in which congregations exist as Christian communities within the contemporary British context. ""Taking issue with theories which assume that Christianity has passively adapted to the conditions of late modernity, Guest presents a vivid account of a Christian community actively engaged in negotiating its place in contemporary society."" --Linda Woodhead, Director AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Programme, Department of Religious Studies, Lancaster University ""Mathew Guest's book makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of contemporary Evangelicalism and helpfully dispels simplistic accounts of Evangelical beliefs and identities. Lucidly written and well-argued, Guest's book will be recommended reading for many years to come."" --Gordon Lynch, Professor of Sociology of Religion, Birkbeck, University of London ""I welcome this book very warmly. . . . T]he author is . . . clear, balanced, and insightful."" --Gracie Davis, Professor of Sociology, University of Exeter ""Mathew Guest's clear, careful, and insightful study of one highly successful Evangelical church in York, and its innovative 'postmodern' offshoot, presents us with a microcosm of much that is happening in today's Church."" --David Martin, from the Foreword Mathew Guest studied theology, religious studies, and sociology at the universities of Nottingham and Lancaster. He is now Lecturer in Theology and Society at Durham University, specializing in the sociological study of contemporary Christianity.