Abby Day Research Articles

Why Baby Boomers Turned from Religion: Shaping Belief and Belonging, 1945–2021, by ABBY DAY

Journal Article Why Baby Boomers Turned from Religion: Shaping Belief and Belonging, 1945–2021, by ABBY DAY Get access Why Baby Boomers Turned from Religion: Shaping Belief and Belonging, 1945–2021, by Abby Day. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022, 233 pp; 90$ (hardcover). Michele Dillon Michele Dillon University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA michele.dillon@unh.edu Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Sociology of Religion, srad015, https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/srad015 Published: 23 June 2023

Review of “Why Baby Boomers Turned from Religion: Shaping Belief and Belonging, 1945–2021”

For quite some time now, scholars have debated the importance of the 1960s for religious decline in western countries. Some scholars argue that secularization only started in the 1960s, others believe that the 1960s were a period of increased speed of a much larger secularization process and still others doubt that the 1960s had a significant impact on religious change. Abby Day clearly sets herself in the camp of those who argue that the 1960s were a pivotal moment for religious decline in western countries. She believes that current secularization has a lot to do with the fact that Baby Boomers (in Day’s definition the generation born between 1945 and 1960) turned from religion, and she sets out to understand why. Additionally, she seeks to understand why these Boomers supposedly decided not to religiously socialize their children and whether they (the Boomers) replaced their lost faith with any alternative forms of beliefs or values.

Abby Day, Sociology of Religion: Overview and Analysis of Contemporary Religion

Abby Day, Sociology of Religion: Overview and Analysis of Contemporary Religion

Researching ‘Faith’ Beyond the Congregation: Testing Terminology in a Pilot Project

Abstract Based upon the experience of an empirical pilot project, this article considers methodological challenges and opportunities involved in researching the faith of people not attached to church congregations, but participating in a church-based initiative. Is it possible to find out what ‘faith’ is for these people, without imposing overtly religious – or non-religious – understandings of ‘faith’? Having situated our work within the research landscape concerning faith, belief and non-belief, we introduce our definition of ‘faith’, drawing upon (but also in places critiquing) Abby Day’s work on investigating ‘belief’ and David Gortner’s research on worldview and ‘personal theology’. Supported by the project’s process and findings, we argue that our approach offers a framework which takes seriously Day’s concern to understand interviewees’ ‘belief’ on its own terms whilst also offering a way of inviting them to evaluate the Christianity they encountered through contact with a local church.

Vegan YouTubers Performing Ethical Beliefs

In Great Britain, “religion or belief” is one of nine “protected characteristics” under the Equality Act 2010, which protects citizens from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. This paper begins with a discussion about a 2020 ruling, “Jordi Casamitjana vs. LACS”, which concluded that ethical vegans are entitled to similar legal protections in British workplaces as those who hold philosophical religious beliefs. While not all vegans hold a philosophical belief to the same extent as Casamitjana, the ruling is significant and will be of interest to scholars investigating non-religious ethical beliefs. To explore this, we have analysed a sample of YouTube videos on the theme of “my vegan story”, showing how vloggers circulate narratives about ethical veganism and the process of their conversion to vegan beliefs and practices. The story format can be understood as what Abby Day has described as a performative “belief narrative”, offering a greater opportunity to understand research participants’ beliefs and related identities than, for example, findings from a closed-question survey. We suggest that through performative acts, YouTubers create “ethical beliefs” through the social, mediatised, transformative, performative and relational practice of their digital content. In doing so, we incorporate a digital perspective to enrich academic discussions of non-religious beliefs.

Place, emotions and aesthetics: young Tamil Hindu religiosity in north-western Norway

ABSTRACT This article explores how young transnationally oriented Tamil Hindus experience and reflect upon local places of Hindu worship in rural Norway. They compare such places to the larger and more aesthetically elaborate temples they experience elsewhere. Perspectives from the work of Ole Riis and Linda Woodhead (2010) and Abby Day (2011, 2013) are employed in the analysis of the interrelations between individuals, places, emotions, religiosity, and beliefs. The findings suggest that different places evoke different emotions. Some places generate strong religious emotions, while others produce embodied emotions of peace, wellbeing, and belonging. These emotions can, in some settings, be considered as religious, while in other settings this is not necessarily the case. The material on which this article is based consists of field notes from observations, written responses to a questionnaire with open-ended questions (N=25), and transcripts from photo-elicitation interviews (N=7). The participants were between 16 and 25 years of age and had been raised in north-western Norway, where the density of Hindus and Hindu organisations is relatively low.

Imaginary Friends and Made-Up Stories: How to Explore (Non)Religious Imaginaries Without Asking Belief-Centred Questions

Abby Day transformed research into nonreligion by demonstrating how to talk about belief without asking religious questions. This article aims to go a step further by demonstrating a way of exploring (non)religious imaginaries without asking belief-centred questions. It does so by suggesting that researchers 1) ask what people are willing to commit their precious time to doing and subsequently 2) pay attention to the myths they tell in sustaining these actions and the way that the imagination brings these to life. I suggest that asking people what they believe may force them into a response that forecloses the complexity of their imagination. Focusing on the belief-based distinctions between purportedly ‘religious’ and ‘nonreligious’ people as has proved particularly popular in the psychology of religion reproduces a (post)Protestant understanding of religion as deeply held belief. Recent developments in sociology and anthropology suggest that this is an inaccurate understanding of many religious people. I suggest that it also places conceptual constraints on explorations of nonreligious imaginaries. Perhaps it does not matter whether people believe that a literary figure really existed or whether or not people believe in life after death. Instead what matters is the agentive force the characters they are imagining have over their lives.

Power from the Periphery?

This article develops the concept of ‘extra-institutional religion,’ which was first introduced in the 2016 book Transforming Post-Catholic Ireland. It describes how the author’s research for a biography of Fr Gerry Reynolds, a Redemptorist based in Belfast’s Clonard Monastery during the Troubles, helped advance the concept by fostering insight into the importance of links between faith-inspired activists and institutional religion. It also develops the concept’s theoretical potential, arguing that it may be well-placed to contribute to wider change by balancing two paradoxical structural strengths: its position on the peripheries of religious, social, and political life; and its continued links with institutional religion. It relates these structural strengths to theoretical literature on religion and civil society (which alerts us to how change can emerge from the peripheries); and Grace Davie and Abby Day’s work on European religion (which alerts us to the continued importance of historically dominant religious institutions). It then describes how Reynolds’s activism was enhanced by the legitimacy and connections that came with his embeddedness in the Catholic Church. Examples include his work with Fr Alec Reid facilitating secret political negotiations during the Troubles; and public ecumenical initiatives like the Cornerstone Community, the Unity Pilgrims, and In Joyful Hope. While Reynolds was not practising extra-institutional religion, his example advances this concept by demonstrating that for faith-inspired activists, maintaining solid links with institutional religion may be more important for sparking change than was originally argued in Transforming Post-Catholic Ireland.

Religious practice in a post-Catholic Ireland: Towards a concept of ‘extra-institutional religion’

This article develops the concept of ‘extra-institutional religion’ to describe how some religiously committed individuals practise religion in a ‘post-Catholic’ Ireland. Rooted in an island-wide study, it describes extra-institutional religion as the practice of religion outside or in addition to the Catholic Church, Ireland’s historically dominant religious institution. As a new concept, extra-institutional religion provides an alternative to the theoretical emphasis on religious individualisation advocated by sociologists of religion and general theorists like Ulrich Beck. It builds on the concepts of British sociologists of religion Grace Davie (‘believing without belonging’ and ‘vicarious religion’) and Abby Day (‘believing in belonging’ and ‘performative religion’). It argues that extra-institutional religion may have application outside Ireland in the mixed religious markets of Europe. Extra-institutional religion also may contribute to wider change by balancing its two structural strengths: its position on the margins, and its continued links with institutional religion.

Abby Day, 2017.: The Religious Lives of Older Laywomen. The Last Active Anglican Generation.

Abby Day, 2017. : The Religious Lives of Older Laywomen. The Last Active Anglican Generation

The Religious Lives of Older Laywomen: The Last Active Anglican Generation, by ABBY DAY

The Religious Lives of Older Laywomen: The Last Active Anglican Generation, by ABBY DAY

Free the Children as a ‘new secular spiritual movement’: a case study on the conceptual boundaries between ‘spirituality’, ‘the sacred’, and ‘new religious movements’

ABSTRACTThe movement under study, Free the Children (FtC), is a youth empowerment organization that was founded in 1995 by a Canadian teenager, who, twenty years on, remains its leader today. Though it does not define itself as either a religion or an alternative to religion, it frequently uses the language of ‘spirituality’. Moreover, it meets all five criteria proposed by Lorne Dawson [2006. “New Religious Movements.” In The Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion, edited by Robert A. Segal, 269–284. Malden: Blackwell, 374] to define a new religious movement (NRM). It likewise demonstrates a valuation of certain principles (belonging, community, compassion, and caring) as set apart and inviolable: what Kim Knott [2013. “The Secular Sacred: In-between or Both/And?” In Social Identities between the Sacred and the Secular, edited by Abby Day, Giselle Vincett and Christopher R. Cotter, 145–160. Farnham: Ashgate] characterizes as ‘the secular sacred’. Trying to situate FtC in the post-war ‘seeking culture’ in which so many NRMs and ‘alternative spiritualities’ arose [Clarke, Peter B. 2006. New Religions in Global Perspective: A Study of Religious Change in the Modern World. New York: Routledge] reveals a major conceptual problem: ‘spirituality’, ‘the sacred’, and ‘NRMs’ have been operationally defined in many pieces of religious studies literature in relation to ‘religion’ and other terms, but never systematically in relation to each other. This is what our project proposes to do, provisionally offering the term ‘new secular spiritual movement’ (NSSM) as a heuristic.

Modernities, Memory and Mutations: Grace Davie and the Study of Religion, edited by Abby Day and Mia Lövheim

Modernities, Memory and Mutations: Grace Davie and the Study of Religion, edited by Abby Day and Mia Lövheim

Abby Day and Mia Lövheim (eds), Modernities, Memory and Mutations: Grace Davie and the Study of Religion

Abby Day and Mia Lövheim (eds), <i>Modernities, Memory and Mutations: Grace Davie and the Study of Religion</i>

Social Identities between the Sacred and the Secular ed. by Abby Day, Giselle Vincett, Christopher R. Cotter, and: Doing Christian Ethics from the Margins by Miguel A. De La Torre, and: Liberation Theology for Armchair Theologians by Miguel A. De La Torre (review)

Reviewed by: Social Identities between the Sacred and the Secular ed. by Abby Day, Giselle Vincett, Christopher R. Cotter, and: Doing Christian Ethics from the Margins by Miguel A. De La Torre, and: Liberation Theology for Armchair Theologians by Miguel A. De La Torre Hans Harmakaputra Social Identities between the Sacred and the Secular. Edited by Abby Day, Giselle Vincett, and Christopher R. Cotter. Ashgate AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Series. Farnum, Surrey, U.K., and Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co., 2013. Pp. 237. $99.95. Miguel A. De La Torre, Doing Christian Ethics from the Margins, 2nd ed., rev. and exp. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2014 (orig.: Orbis, 2004). Pp. 362. $35.00, paper. Miguel A. De La Torre, Liberation Theology for Armchair Theologians. Armchair Theologians Series. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013. Pp. 168. $17.00, paper. The two books by De La Torre are concerned with liberation theology, one of the contemporary approaches that emerged in the twentieth century. Liberation theology has suffered rejection and criticism, but it has radically changed what it means to do Christian theology. In Liberation Theology for Armchair Theologians, which is part of larger series of introductory books, De La Torre does a wonderful job in presenting what liberation theology is in a simple way. As a part of the Armchair series, the book is purposely written for the novice with no theological training. De La Torre introduces the historical background from which liberation theology emerges, the South American context that strongly influences the discourse, and the important figures, and he explains how liberation theology put more emphasis on orthopraxis than on orthodoxy. Liberation theology comes from the margins and uses the eyes of the margins to interpret the whole of Christian theology. It seeks to liberate society from structural oppression. The forte of this book is its daring attempt in disclosing how theology is never unrelated to reality. Rather, theology is either about helping the oppressors and their endeavors in maintaining the status quo or about becoming a fuel to subvert the system and transform the society. [End Page 612] De La Torre defends liberation theology from an accusation that it is a form of Marxism because it incorporates sociopolitical analysis into its methodology. He states that “Marx may be one of many conversation partners, but he can never be the sole guide into the future” (p. 61). Since the book is introductory, it would not really be useful for scholars. Further, the author covers only the older generation of liberation theologians, neglecting recent developments or younger theologians. Doing Christian Ethics from the Margins is revised and expanded from the 2004 original and is specifically dedicated to elaborate Christian ethics from the lens of liberation theology. It is an attempt by De La Torre to shift the discourse of Christian ethics by integrating a hermeneutical mode of liberation theology. If Christian ethics begins with certain “truth” derived from dogmatic or biblical precepts, and ethics is treated as an endeavor to apply the “truth,” De La Torre emphasizes praxis that could redefine what is perceived before as the “truth.” The first way reflects an approach from the center, while the second comes from the margins. He believes that Christian ethics could really embody God’s will only through using the eyes of the margins. The hermeneutical circle proposed in this book has five steps. The first step is “observing” where Christians identify the problem. The second is “reflecting,” which includes social analysis as a tool to scrutinize injustice and oppression. Third is theological and biblical analysis on the problem or “praying.” Fourth, ethicists must formulate an actual plan for implementing praxis or “acting.” The last step is “reassessing” where new ethical perspectives emerge. The bulk of this book contains an analysis on using this five-step hermeneutical lens on various issues that he differentiates in three clusters: global, national, and business. Those are examples of how Christian ethics from the margins could be done in the context of the United States. This book is an excellent example of how liberation theology impacts on Christian theology, particularly in the field of ethics. It also shows how Christian ethics should impact real life...

The Complexity of Authenticity in Religious Innovation: “Alternative Worship” and Its Appropriation as “Fresh Expressions”

The Complexity of Authenticity in Religious Innovation: “Alternative Worship” and Its Appropriation as “Fresh Expressions”

Abby Day, Giselle Vincett, and Christopher R. Cotter: Social Identities between the Sacred and the Secular. Farnham and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2013; pp. xvii + 237.

Abby Day, Giselle Vincett, and Christopher R. Cotter: Social Identities between the Sacred and the Secular. Farnham and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2013; pp. xvii + 237.

Book Reviews

Believing in Belonging: Belief &amp; Social Identity in the Modern World by Abby Day is reviewed by Lise Kanckos.Religion and the New Atheism: A Critical Appraisal, edited by Amarnath Amarasingam, is reviewed by Mikko Sillfors.

Believing in belonging: belief and social identity in the modern world – By Abby Day

Believing in belonging: belief and social identity in the modern world – By Abby Day

Articles and Publications

Articles and Publications Christopher Densmore and Barbara Addison An annotated bibliography of the titles listed below is available at the Friends Historical Association website: www.haverford.edu/library/fha Sally Bruyneel, Margaret Fell and the End of Time: The Theology of the Mother of Quakerism, Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2010, examines the religious thought of Margaret Fell (1614-1702). Kenneth A. Shelton, The Way Cast Up: The Keithian Schism in an English Enlightenment Context, Thesis (Ph.D.)—Boston College, 2009, uses the schism of the 1690s to reveal, in the words of the author's abstract, "how very modern the Quakers were in their handling of honor culture, public dispute, identity, and public authority." Paul F. Burton, "Using Quaker Records for Social History," Scottish Archives 14 (2008), 39-46, comments on the research use of Quaker meeting records based on examples from Scotland. Pamela Richardson, "Kinship and Networking in a Quaker Family in the Nineteenth Century," Family & Community History, 12.1 (May 2009), uses the Fox family of Devon, England, to explore family, social and business networks. Errands into the Metropolis: New England Dissidents in Revolutionary London, Hanover, NH: Dartmouth College Press, 2009, by Jonathan Beecher Field, includes many references to Quakers as dissenters in early colonial New England. Field's chapter on "Suffering and Subscribing: Configurations of Authorship in the Quaker Atlantic," 90-115, examines Quaker publishing in the 1650s and 1660s. In William Penn and Pan-Utopianism, M.A. thesis, George Washington University, 2009, Patrick William Cecil characterizes Penn's efforts in Pennsylvania as an attempt to establish a "utopian society of toleration and peace." Nicholas P. Miller examines Penn's ideas on religious liberty in "Theology and Disestablishment in Colonial America: Insights from a Quaker, a Puritan and a Baptist," Journal of the Adventist Theological Society 19.1-2 (2008), 137-160. The life of Bristol, England, Quaker and merchant Thomas Speed (1623-1703) is detailed in Jonathan Harlow's The Life and Times of Thomas Speed, Ph.D. thesis, University of the West of England, 2008. The Diary of Hannah Callender Sansom: Sense and Sensibility in the Age of the American Revolution, edited by Susan E. Klepp and Karin Wulf, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2010, provides the text and analysis of a journal covering 1758 to 1788, kept by Philadelphia Quaker Hannah Callender Sansom (1737-1801). Unnatural History: Breast Cancer and American Society by Robert A. Aronwitz, [End Page 59] New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007, 21-50, includes a chapter on the experiences of New Jersey Quaker Susanna Dillwyn Emlen (1769-1819) and her six year struggle with the disease. The Diary of Elizabeth Drinker: the Life Cycle of an Eighteenth-Century Woman, edited, with a new preface, by Elaine Forman Crane, Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010 (first published in 1994), is an abridged version of the extensive journals of Philadelphia Quaker Elizabeth Sandwith Drinker (1735-1807). Pink Dandelion, "Guarded Domesticity and Engagement with 'the World': The Separate Spheres of Quaker Quietism," Common Knowledge 16.1 (2010), 95-109, examines eighteenth-century Quaker quietism with particular attention to the involvement of Friends in abolitionism and other reforms. Peter Collins, "Accommodating the Individual and the Social, the Religious and the Secular: Modelling the Parameters of Discourse in 'Religious' Contexts," in Religion and the Individual: Belief, Practice, Identity, edited by Abby Day, Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2008, 143-156, is a contemporary examination of the relation between religion and society based on an examination of an English Quaker meeting. "The Good Education of Youth": Worlds of Learning in the Age of Franklin, edited by John H. Pollack, New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2009, includes chapters by William Kashatus on "Franklin's Secularization of Quaker Education," and by John C. Van Horne, "The Education of African-Americans in Benjamin Franklin's Philadelphia" and other references to Quakers and education in eighteenth century Philadelphia. Matthew Dennis, Seneca Possessed: Indians, Witchcraft, and Power in the Early American Republic, Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010, explores cultural and religious change among the Seneca Indians of western New York State in the early nineteenth century, with comments on Quakers and their influence on the Seneca. Jill Kinney...