Uncertain faith in later life: studies of the last religious generations in England (UK)

Coleman, Peter G. and Mills, Marie A. (2018) Uncertain faith in later life: studies of the last religious generations in England (UK). In, Bengtson, Vern L. and Silverstein, Merril (eds.) New Dimensions in Spirituality, Religion, and Aging. 1st ed. New York. Taylor & Francis, pp. 86-112. (doi:10.4324/9780429463891).

Abstract

This chapter re-examines interviews from studies conducted in the south of England between 1970 and 2010 which have explored older people’s religious attitudes. Although the UK has long been a less religious society than the US, post-WWII changes in social values have been accompanied by marked decline in belief and practice which has been observed even among previously active church members. The interviews highlight questioning and loss of traditional Christian faith in a good and all powerful God who cares for the individual person. The period following bereavement of a spouse appears to be a particularly vulnerable time for engendering doubt. It is argued that religious ministers need to engage more strongly with their older members through the vicissitudes of later life. They should take older people’s questioning more seriously and attempt to provide more appropriate theological answers. In providing both individual and group support they should also recognize older people’s own potential as spiritual ministers. In addition researchers themselves need, in an increasingly irreligious society, to pay more attention to evaluating the effectiveness of non-religious humanistic world views as sources of existential meaning at the end of life.

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