Anglican Cathedrals in Modern Life

Anglican Cathedrals in Modern Life The Science of Cathedral Studies

First published in 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

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ISBN 978-1-349-55347-1 ISBN 978-1-137-55931-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137559319 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Anglican cathedrals in modern life : the science of cathedral studies / editeddi by Leslie J. Francis. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Cathedrals—England. 2.Church development, New—Church of England. 3. Cathedrals—Social aspects. 4. Cathedrals—Social aspects—England. I. Francis, Leslie J., editor. BV634.A54 2015 283'.42—dc23 2015013580

A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.

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First edition: October 2015

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents

List of Tables vii

Foreword ix Michael Sadgrove Preface xiii

1 Shaping Cathedral Studies: A Scientific Approach 1 Leslie J. Francis and Judith A. Muskett 2 Cathedral Engagement with Young People 29 Owen Edwards and Tania ap Siôn 3 Cathedral Congregations: Retreating from Commitment or Generating Social Capital? 51 Leslie J. Francis and Emyr Williams

4 Motivational Styles of Cathedral Congregations 73 Leslie J. Francis and Emyr Williams

5 The Cathedral alongside Parish Churches: Comparing Congregations 95 David W. Lankshear, Leslie J. Francis, and Michael Ipgrave 6 Cathedral Carol Services: Who Attends and Why? 111 David S. Walker

7 Ministry of the Cathedral Prayer Board: Studying Ordinary Prayer 131 Tania ap Siôn 8 Encountering Ordinary Visitors through Cathedral Visitors’ Books 155 Lewis Burton 9 The Spiritual Revolution and the Spiritual Quest of Cathedral Visitors 171 Leslie J. Francis, Jennie Annis, and Mandy Robbins vi C ontents

10 The Gospel of Inclusivity and Cathedral Visitors 189 Leslie J. Francis, Mandy Robbins, and Jennie Annis

11 Cathedrals Making Friends: Building Associations 215 Judith A. Muskett 12 The Science of Cathedral Studies: Present and Future 239 Judith A. Muskett and Leslie J. Francis

Bibliography: Cathedrals in Modern Life 251 Contributors 257

Author Index 259 Subject Index 263 List of Tables

2.1 Dioceses of the Church of England and the Church in Wales according to the Ten-Factor Model 35 3.1 Choosing to Attend the Cathedral 63 3.2 The Cathedral and Developing Capitals 64 3.3 The Cathedral and Social Networks 65 3.4 Support within and beyond the Cathedral 67 4.1 Extrinsic Religious Orientation: Item-Rest-of-Scale Correlations, Alpha Coefficient, and Percentage Endorsements 83 4.2 Intrinsic Religious Orientation: Item-Rest-of-Scale Correlations, Alpha Coefficient, and Percentage Endorsements 84 4.3 Quest Religious Orientation: Item-Rest-of-Scale Correlations, Alpha Coefficient, and Percentage Endorsements 85 4.4 Mean Scale Scores by Cathedral 86 5.1 Strength of Attachment 102 5.2 Faith for the Future 104 5.3 Styles of Worship 105 5.4 The Spiritual Journey 107 6.1 Engaging with the Carol Service 117 6.2 Beliefs about the Christmas Story 119 6.3 Conservative and Liberal Christianity 121 6.4 Celebrating Christmas in Britain Today 125 6.5 Private and Public Christianity 126 7.1 Content of Intercessory and Supplicatory Prayer by Intention, Reference, and Objective 145 9.1 Activities Taken Part in during the Past Five Years 182 9.2 Activities during the Past Five Years by Church Attendance 184 10.1 Psychological Type of Male Cathedral Visitors, Compared with UK Male Population Norms 206 viii Lis t o f Tables

10.2 Psychological Type of Female Cathedral Visitors, Compared with UK Female Population Norms 207 11.1 Charitable Aims and Objectives of Cathedral Friends’ Associations 222 Foreword

Michael Sadgrove

There has been a spate of writing in recent years about cathedrals. This is to be welcomed. The buildings and heritage of cathedrals have of course always been celebrated by scholarly writers who have wanted to respond to the infinite scope these marvelous places offer for study and research. But other aspects of cathedrals have been less well explored. The theologian asks the ecclesiological question: as an expression of “church,” what kind of faith community iss a cathedral? The liturgist is interested in how a sacred space like a cathedral nurtures a distinctive form of liturgical life. The social geographer inquires how a cathedral belongs to an envi- ronment shaped both by landscape and by human culture. The cultural anthropologist explores the semiotics of cathedrals, how cathedrals func- tion as numinous symbol-systems that speak into the psyche of human beings. Alongside these concerns, there is a set of questions that are of imme- diate relevance to those who inhabit cathedrals. These are what fasci- nate the ethnographer in particular. Who comes to them and why? Who attends their services? What kind of “congregation” is a cathedral’s wor- shipping community, and how does it differ from a parish church? How do pilgrims and visitors understand and respond to cathedrals? What do they do when they step inside them? What kind of spiritual journey are they on and how do they express it? These matters are—or should be—of keen interest to those who pre- side over or are employed by or volunteer in cathedrals, not least because, to put it in the language of transaction, the provider needs to understand what the client is gaining, expecting, needing, or asking for from what is offered. But I dare say that many of these matters will also be of concern to a wider constituency. Cathedral worshippers will benefit by becoming more self-aware in their “belonging.” Those who promote cultural or religious tourism will be helped by work that locates cathedrals in those particular worlds. Professionals in the spheres of heritage or art history will be enriched by understanding the human “texture” of an ancient building not simply as a matter of history but as it functions in the present. This book is not the first to identify these important questions. As long ago as the nineteenth century, what is coming to be known as “Cathedral Studies” was already beginning. In 1872, J. S. Howson, the x F oreword

Dean of Chester, edited a volume of essays that considered such topics as “Cathedrals in Their Missionary Aspect,” “Cathedral Foundations in Relation to Religious Thought,” “Cathedral Reform: Past Present and Future,” and “The Relation of the Chapter to the Bishop.” What is signiff- icant about Howson’s work is its empirical approach. Given the coldness, even hostility, toward cathedrals that he perceived, Howson (1872) wrote about “the need of diffusing well-considered information on the subject” (p. vi). He and his colleagues wanted to know what distinctive contribution cathedrals made to the life of church and nation. That substantial volume was a brave attempt at an answer that was not merely based on an anecdote, a pious dream, or a rose-hued memory. In the modern era, as the first chapter of Anglican Cathedrals in Mod- ern Lifee explains, Cathedral Studies were given new impetus by the publication in 1994 of the Archbishops’ Commission report Heritage and Renewall (Archbishops’ Commission on Cathedrals, 1994). The research gathered an impressive array of evidence garnered as a result of visits to all the English cathedrals. The report made recommendations, most of which, if they had not already, have now become mainstream policy in the cathedral world. In particular, the legislation governing cathedrals was overhauled by the Cathedrals Measure of 1999, which modernized and to a large extent improved the way in which these historically dis- parate institutions were led and overseen. The report in turn spawned a decade of further writing and reflection in which an empirical approach to cathedrals took its rightful place alongside other, more theoretical, stances (MacKenzie, 1996; Platten & Lewis, 1998, 2006). These writ- ings examined such topics as cathedrals’ involvement in tourism, the arts, education, civic life, evangelism, and social outreach. Most recently and significantly, there has been the brief but influen- tial study Spiritual Capitall (Theos & The Grubb Institute, 2012) that presented the outcomes of a joint project by two research institutions, Theos and The Grubb Institute. The purpose was “to enable cathedrals and those who run and work in them to understand better the func- tion they fulfil in society, thereby equipping them to identify and respond faithfully and fruitfully to mission opportunities” (Theos & The Grubb Institute, 2012, p. 10). The approach was rigorously evidence led, focus- ing on, but by no means restricted to, empirical research conducted by detailed online questionnaires in six contrasting cathedrals (including my own at Durham). This report established that the idea of “spiritual capital,” drawing on the concept of social capital well known to social scientists, was not some pipe dream of deans and chapters thinking wistfully in ivory towers but represented a reality that could be evidenced by careful objective research. Anglican Cathedrals in Modern Lifee builds on that approach. Some of its themes converge with those of Spiritual Capitall and help to fill out F o rewo rd xi the picture. In other respects Anglican Cathedrals in Modern Lifee breaks new ground. What matters is that this book’s method is likewise empirical, interpreting evidence that has been scientifically gathered and stress- tested by those who want to interpret it. There is a wealth of information in these pages that will prove to be a gift to all who are involved in cathedrals in whatever capacity. I believe it will inform strategies that will help cathedrals to make an even greater contribution than they do at present. I believe it may also dispel a few myths. (I am thinking of the old chestnut that people who worship in cathedrals are merely refugees from parishes who have fallen out with the vicar, evaded the challenges of stewardship, or don’t like singing worship songs. The evidence presented here is that worshippers are drawn to cathedrals for positive reasons having to do with liturgy, preaching, music, and not least, a sense of welcome, community warmth, and well-being.) Let me dispel another possible myth about the method this book and some of its precursors employ. Glancing superficially through these pages, one could easily imagine that their focus on evidence and their analyses of it sit lightly to the more traditional approaches I referred to earlier, those informed by theology, ecclesiology, liturgy, and spirituality—easy to imagine, but wrong. What the authors call “scientific approaches to Cathedral Studies” are profoundly theological in the material they examine, the way they handle it, and its significance for theological reflection. This way of doing “theology” is to reflect on what is implicit rather than explicit, inductive rather than deductive, or to borrow an analogy from Christol- ogy, “from below” rather than “from above.” But a moment’s thought will show how much theology has always been empirical, in debt to inductive methods. “Reflection on experience in the light of faith” is almost a working definition of theology, and throughout the book, evidence abounds that plenty of people in and around cathedrals are doing precisely this: contributing their experiences and insights as a resource for theology. You could say that these pages are a testimony to the wealth and breadth of a multitude of “unconscious theologians”—which is what sacred space makes us, as soon as we set foot inside a church and begin to think about its meaning—indeed, as soon as we begin to think about anyy meanings in the light of the questions faith poses about human life. There is no better testimony to this theological and spiritual quest than atheist poet Philip Larkin’s (1989) oft-quoted poem “Church Going” (pp. 97–98). He speaks about visiting a church out of hours. He wanders round, looks at the furnishings and stained glass, smells the air, ponders why the building is there at all, whether it was worth his while going inside in the first place, whether the day will come when the world has no use for churches. But then he reflects on the experience, surprised to find “a hunger in himself to be more serious.” He touches his own mortality. xii Forewo rd

A question has been raised in his mind. And we recognize it to be both a spiritual and a theological one. I do not know whether Larkin, who frequented North East England, had Durham Cathedral in mind (though it did receive an unexpected and generous benefaction from his estate). In Durham, like every other cathedral, it is difficult to find a time when poets and more prosaic visitors can be sure that, in Larkin’s words, “there’s nothing going on.” This book testifies to that too, in the wealth of activity that goes on in cathedrals day after day. And if the memory of having stepped inside a “serious house” is at all the experience of a significant number of visitors, then the theological search is clearly thriving. This study points, I think, in that direc- tion, not least through the unlikely evidence gathered here of visitors’ books, intercession boards, and the throwaway remarks of worshippers and guests alike. For all these reasons, I warmly welcome Anglican Cathedrals in Mod- ern Life. It is a landmark contribution to Cathedral Studies that will open doors to further research in years to come. It is not only cathedrals that will be the beneficiaries. The essayists deserve our warmest thanks.

References

Archbishops’ Commission on Cathedrals. (1994). Heritage and renewal. London, United Kingdom: Church House. Howson, J. S. (1872). Essays on cathedrals by various writers. London, United Kingdom: John Murray. Larkin, P. (1989). Collected Poems. Edited by Anthony Thwaite. New York, NY: Farrar, Strauss, & Giraux. MacKenzie, I. M. (Ed.). (1996). Cathedrals now: Their use and place in society. Norwich, United Kingdom: Canterbury Press. Platten, S., & Lewis, C. (Eds.). (1998). Flagships of the Spirit: Cathedrals in society. London, United Kingdom: Darton, Longman and Todd. Platten, S., & Lewis, C. (Eds.). (2006). Dreaming spires? Cathedrals in a new age. London, United Kingdom: SPCK. Theos & The Grubb Institute. (2012). Spiritual capital: The present and future of English cathedrals. A Research Report commissioned by The Foundation for Church Leadership and The Association of English Cathe- drals. London, United Kingdom: Theos. Preface

Preparing this book on the science of Cathedral Studies has been important to me for two reasons. As a Christian theologian rooted in a secular university, concerned with interpreting and making sense of God’s reign in God’s world, I have for a long time been attracted by the theological method proposed by Jesus in Mark 4: 2–9. When the crowd gathered around Jesus to learn about the reign of God, Jesus invited them to become empirical scientists, to go and to observe the sower at work, to note the patterns associated with different levels of growth, and to count the yield. Here is the dominical mandate for conducting empirical theology. The science of Cathedral Studies is rooted in that theological tradition. As Canon Treasurer and Canon Theologian rooted in the Chapter of Bangor Cathedral, I have for a long time been concerned with the distinctive opportunities and challenges presented by cathedral ministry and mission. The intention of the science of Cathedral Studies is to pay close attention to the ways in which God reigns within and through cathedrals. In the twenty-first century, cathedrals seem to be touching human lives and reaching out to social structures in important and interesting ways. The empirical studies reported in this book open up the science of Cathedral Studies and invite others to join in that endeavor. I am grateful to the friends and colleagues who have made this project and vision possible by their collaboration and by their commitment to refining pertinent and relevant research questions, collecting and ana- lyzing quality research data, and drawing out the implications of their findings for cathedral ministry and mission. Here is an excellent exam- ple of empirical theologians at work around a common theme, working together at the same bench where scientifically based knowledge is being refined and tested. I record appreciation to Jennie Annis, Tania ap Siôn, Lewis Burton, Owen Edwards, Michael Ipgrave, David W. Lankshear, Judith A. Muskett, Mandy Robbins, David S. Walker, and Emyr Williams. I also wish to record my special gratitude to Emma Eccles, who has exercised such skill and patience in preparing the manuscript for publication, and to Judith Muskett, who has shown such professionalism and care in checking, revising, and improving the text. xiv Prefac e

With the publication of this book comes also a note of sadness. Lewis Burton, who collaborated with me on so many projects during his retire- ment, died before he could see his chapter, “Encountering Ordinary Visitors through Cathedral Visitors’ Books,” in print. This volume is dedicated in his memory. Leslie J. Francis Candlemas 2015