The Transformation of Anglicanism From State Church to Global Communion [Paperback]

This much-needed book seeks to understand the nature of Anglicanism's adaptation to modern culture.This much-needed book examines the impact of modernity upon Anglicanism and shows how modern circumstances gave the Church both challenges to overcome and opportunities for expansion.This much-needed book examines the impact of modernity upon Anglicanism and shows how modern circumstances gave the Church both challenges to overcome and opportunities for expansion.This book examines the various contexts - historical, social, cultural, and ideological - which have shaped the modern efforts of the Anglican tradition at self-understanding. The author's thesis is that modernity and world mission have changed Anglicanism in ways that are deep and pervasive, just as other Christian traditions have also been profoundly affected by worldwide extension. In the case of the Anglican tradition, however, a distinctive way of relating Christianity to local culture and a distinctive kind of indigenous leader produced a church identity different from other forms of Christendom. Dr Sachs' aim is to contrast Anglicanism both with the style of Roman Catholicism and with the characteristically Protestant emphasis upon individual conversion apart from concern for the Church and its tradition.Acknowledgements; 1. The dawn of modernity; 2. New visions of establishment; 3. The adjustment of church and state; 4. The struggle to define the church and its belief; 5. The church and empire; 6. Anglicanism confronts cultural diversity; 7. The crisis of church and culture; 8. The search for the authentic church; Notes; Index.