Risking the Church: The Challenges of Catholic Faith

Books reviewed:
Richard Lennan, Risking the Church: The Challenges of Catholic Faith. Reviewed by Nicholas M. Healy St John's University, New York     

Qualitative Assessment of Vaccination Hesitancy Among Members of the Apostolic Church of Zimbabwe: A Case Study

Vaccine hesitancy or lack of confidence in vaccines is considered a threat to the success of vaccination programs. The rise and spread of measles outbreaks in southern Africa in 2009–2010 were linked to objections among Apostolic Church members, estimated at about 3.5 million in Zimbabwe as of 2014. To inform planning of interventions for a measles–rubella vaccination campaign, we conducted an assessment of the factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy using data from various stakeholders. Among nine districts in three regions of Zimbabwe, we collected data on religious attitudes toward, and perceptions of, vaccines through focus group discussions with health workers serving Apostolic communities and members of the National Expanded Programme on Immunization; semi-structured interviews with religious leaders; and open-ended questions in structured interviews with Apostolic parents/caregivers. Poor knowledge of vaccines, lack of understanding and appreciation of the effectiveness of vaccinations, religious teachings that emphasize prayers over the use of medicine, lack of privacy in a religiously controlled community, and low levels of education were found to be the main factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy among key community members and leaders. Accepting vaccination in public is a risk of sanctions. Poor knowledge of vaccines is a major factor of hesitancy which is reinforced by religious teachings on the power of prayers as alternatives. Because parents/caregivers perceive vaccines as dangerous for their children and believe they can cause death or disease, members of the Apostolic Church have more confidence in alternative methods such as use of holy water and prayers to treat diseases. Under these circumstances, it is important to debunk the myths about the power of holy water on the one hand and disseminate positive information of the efficacy of vaccines on the other hand in order to reduce hesitancy. Education about vaccines and vaccination in conjunction with government intervention, for example, through the use of social distancing policies can provide a framework for reducing hesitancy and increasing demand for vaccination.     

Missional Church: A Historical and Theological Analysis of an Ecclesiological Tradition

This article argues that an understanding of the development of a missional ecclesiology requires we recognize three closely connected and significant matters in 20th‐century mission history: first, the increasing appreciation of the interconnection of church and mission evinced at major ecumenical conferences in the mid‐20th century; second, the contributions of influential missiologist Lesslie Newbigin and his theological integration of mission and church; and third, the breakthrough of the phrase “missional church” with the 1998 publication of the book Missional Church. This article traces this three‐part development through both historical and theological analyses.     

Safeguarding Tradition: Psychological Type Preferences of Male Vergers in the Church of England

The current study explores the psychological type profile of vergers within the Church of England. A sample of 42 male vergers completed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Form G). The study shows that vergers tend to prefer introversion over extraversion, sensing over intuition, thinking over feeling, and judging over perceiving. The type preferences of vergers are compared and contrasted with the type preferences of clergy and laity. These findings are explored within the context of the role of the verger within the Church of England.     

Three Contrasting Approaches in English Church/Faith Schools: Perspectives from headteachers

This article briefly notes the context in which English church/faith schools, supported by public funds, are placed. It then reports on three small and linked research projects into how 14 primary schools, led by their headteachers, belonging to three Christian denominations in England, namely Roman Catholic, Church of England and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), transmit their beliefs and culture to their children. It goes on to examine the cultures that can be discerned within these schools and to compare differences. The article concludes by placing the findings on a continuum of closed/open; and, finally, by speculating on the consequences of the findings in a secularized and multi-cultural society.     

The Church of Faith and Freedom: African–American Baptists and Social Action

Clergy have an undeniable ability to shape the political beliefs and attitudes of their congregations and thus revealing how the framing activities of clergy affect behavior and influence mobilization is vital for political sociology. This ethnographic work delineates how, in 1972, the Second Baptist Church of Evanston's new pastor initiated a rapid change from social conservatism to become one of the most politically and socially active African–American Baptist churches in the Midwest. Second Baptist's radical change confirms the power of religious elites in shaping politics in spiritual institutions, and also demonstrates the vital impact of professional socialization on the theological and political orientations of clergy.