ABSTRACT

This chapter offers a binocular approach to the some of the issues facing the Church of England, drawing on both theology and social sciences in order to help read the signs of the times. In an attempt to source the origins of Margaret Thatcher’s ‘conviction politics’, Eliza Filby explores how Thatcher’s worldview was shaped and guided by the lessons of piety, thrift and the Protestant work ethic learnt at the Finkin Street Methodist Church, Grantham, from her lay-preacher father. The church may be running serious risks in constantly talking up the prospects and possibilities for growth, and its alleged evidence. In the field of ecclesiology, many study the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion, and this thesis has made an attempt to offer some alternative charts and new maps, and to act as a companion and guide to some of the key trends and forces that are shaping the church.