ABSTRACT
In the final chapter of this section, we return to a theme raised earlier in the book (chapter 4): the question of normativity. Here, this is specifically interpreted through a reading of normativity as ‘tradition’ – that which has been received, handed on. By first examining some contemporary theological accounts of how ‘tradition’ might be understood, the chapter continues by seeking to learn how received traditions functioned within the Practices researched. In this way, it is demonstrated how ‘normativity’ understood through the lens of tradition, as enacted and articulated by practice and formal theology, can be helpfully understood as invitational and participatory, rather than fixed or closed.
