Mass observers making meaning: religion, spirituality and atheism in late 20th-century Britain
Introduction: Puzzled People? -- Belief and Disbelief -- Death and Afterwards -- Religion and Science -- Uses of the Paranormal -- Moments in our Time -- A Pagan Priestess.
| Summary: | Introduction: Puzzled People? -- Belief and Disbelief -- Death and Afterwards -- Religion and Science -- Uses of the Paranormal -- Moments in our Time -- A Pagan Priestess. "What do people believe about death and the afterlife? How do they negotiate the relationship between science and religion? Do forces they think of as supernatural affect their lives? And how do they account for apparently paranormal events or exceptional moments of sudden enlightenment? Using a fascinating wealth of Mass Observation volunteer writings, Mass Observers Making Meaning immerses us in what the big existential questions meant for people in late 20th-century Britain. The book captures the extraordinarily diverse landscape of belief and disbelief to be found in the country during the period, whilst considering the swift decline of the Christian churches since the 1960s, the growth of atheism, and the flourishing of alternative spiritualities in the process. Writing as a convinced atheist, historian James Hinton reflects on the varied Mass Observation writings in such a way as to make the case for empathetic listening; he convincingly argues for this as something that will enable society to move beyond the cacophony of conflicting beliefs to an understanding of our common need and ability to seek meaning in our lives moving forward"-- What do people believe about death and the afterlife? How do they negotiate the relationship between science and religion? How do they understand apparently paranormal events? What do they make of sensations of awe, wonder or exceptional moments of sudden enlightenment?The volunteer mass observers responded to such questions with a freshness, openness and honesty which compels attention. Using this rich material, Mass Observers Making Meaning captures the extraordinarily diverse landscape of belief and disbelief to be found in Britain in the late 20th-century, at a time when Christianity was in steep decline, alternative spiritualities were flourishing and atheism was growing. Divided as they were about the ultimate nature of reality, the mass observers were united in their readiness to puzzle about life s larger questions. Listening empathetically to their accounts, James Hinton - himself a convinced atheist - seeks to bring divergent ways of finding meaning in human life into dialogue with one another, and argues that we can move beyond the cacophony of conflicting beliefs to an understanding of our common need and ability to seek meaning in our lives |
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| Item Description: | Includes bibliographical references and index |
| ISBN: | 1350274534 |