Warfare and Waves: Calvinists and Charismatics in the Church of England

Why is the Church of England perceived by many as homophobic misogynist or just plain weird? Because two movements within it the Calvinists and the Charismatics have recently achieved a degree of influence disproportionate to their numerical strength. And how has this come about? Both movements are well organized and wealthy. The Calvinists have played the media and ecclesiastical politics games with skill and determination while sternly identifying themselves as guardians of the one true Reformed doctrine having no truck with the world. The Charismatics on the other hand have embraced many elements of late-modern culture but retain a premodern worldview. Peter Herriot argues that to recover from the opportunity costs and reputational damage that it has suffered at their hands the Church of England must seize back the agenda from the Calvinists and face outwards rather than inwards. In its efforts to come to terms with globalization the elephant in the Anglican crypt the churchs leadership will need to sideline the Calvinists and encourage the Charismatics with their recent increased social involvement. Written by a social psychologist this book is full of detailed case studies that give a vivid insight into the organizational structures and subcultures of these two very different evangelical movements. This is an invaluable account of how two influential but little-studied movements have shaped the Church of England in recent times. It brings to bear great psychological and sociological insight as well as humor and good sense. --Professor Linda Woodhead Department of Politics Philosophy and Religion Lancaster University This is a clear and composed analysis of contemporary evangelicalism and Herriots sage and insightful observations make for compelling reading. This book should be read and studied by all those in the field of ecclesiology and the study of contemporary Christianity. The clarity and cogency of Herriots work gives us an unrivaled guide to one of the most fascinating fields in the study of the contemporary church. --Martyn Percy Dean Christ Church College Oxford University Herriot explores the tension between Calvinists and Charismatics in the broader context of the clash between institutions and movements in the Church of England. This book is a remarkable social psychological study sensitive to the history and future of Englands Church which must confront the fact of globalization as it addresses the dual demands of sexual and economic justice from both internal and external pressures. This is a marvelous read and a remarkably wise book. --Ralph W. Hood Jr. former editor Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion former president Division of Psychology of Religion American Psychological Association Peter Herriot was Professor of Psychology at the City University London and at Birkbeck College University of London. He is the author of Religious Fundamentalism and Social Identity (2008) and Religious Fundamentalism: Global Local and Personal (2009). Since retirement he has applied a social scientific perspective to religion having been raised in a fundamentalist family.