A Cathedral Is Not Just for Christmas:

Coleman, Simon; Bowman, Marion; Sepp, Tiina

doi:10.2307/j.ctvhrd19h.15

Cited by 20 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…This festival featured a large artificial skating rink in the centre of the nave, as well as 105 Christmas trees in the side aisles and chancel, decorated by local businesses, charities, church groups and individuals. Coleman et al (2019) explored how Christmas presents both an opportunity and a challenge for cathedrals, drawing on data from an interdisciplinary study of four English cathedrals: Canterbury, Durham, and York (all Anglican), and Westminster (Roman Catholic).…”

Section: The Science Of Cathedral Studies At Christmasmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Science of Cathedral Studies: Exploring Demographic Profile, Motivational Intentions, and Perceived Impact among those Attending the Holly Bough Service in Liverpool Cathedral

Francis

Jones²,

McKenna

et al. 2020

Religions

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The Holly Bough service is a unique pre-Christmas event, combining musical excellence and theological depth, crafted by the founding dean of Liverpool Cathedral in the early twentieth century for the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Located within the developing science of cathedral studies, this paper analyses the demographic profile, motivational intention (drawing on religious orientation theory) and perceived impact on spiritual wellbeing (drawing on Fisher’s four dimensional model) among 564 participants who completed a detailed survey at the service held in 2019. The data demonstrated a mix of ages, a sense of Anglican commitment to this form of event-belonging by those who return year-on-year and invite friends to join them, and a perceived beneficial impact on all four dimensions of spiritual wellbeing.

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Section: The Science Of Cathedral Studies At Christmasmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Science of Cathedral Studies: Exploring Demographic Profile, Motivational Intentions, and Perceived Impact among those Attending the Holly Bough Service in Liverpool Cathedral

Francis

Jones²,

McKenna

et al. 2020

Religions

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“…Alongside the Sunday congregation and the hidden congregation, cathedrals attract different styles of congregations for special events and for special occasions. Amongst these special events and special occasions, the specific event that has received most attention is the Christmas carol service, from both qualitative (Coleman, Bowman & Sepp 2019;Murphy 2016;Muskett 2017;Phillips 2010) and quantitative perspectives (Francis et al 2020b;Francis, Edwards & ap Siôn in press;Walker 2012aWalker , 2012bWalker , 2013Walker , 2015aWalker , 2015b. A particular feature of these studies is that they draw attention to the distinctive profile of the individuals who come to these services.…”

Section: Psychological Health and Well-being Of Participants At Special Eventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cathedrals as agents of psychological health and well-being within secular societies: Assessing the impact of the Holly Bough service in Liverpool Cathedral

Francis

Jones

2020

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies

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This study is designed to test the hypothesis that events like the Holly Bough service held in Liverpool Cathedral on the fourth Sunday of Advent that attracts a wide range of participants, including regular churchgoers and occasional (sometimes annual) visitors, contribute significantly to the psychological health and well-being of these participants. At the Holly Bough service held in 2019, a total of 383 participants (139 men, 229 women and 15 individuals who preferred anonymity) completed a recognised measure of psychological health and well-being (the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire) whilst they were waiting for the service to begin and again during a 5-min organ improvisation just before the close of the service. The data demonstrated a significantly higher score on the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire at time 2 than at time 1, suggesting that the experience of the service functioned as an agent of psychological health and well-being.Contribution: Situated within the science of cathedral studies, this paper confirms by means of a repeated-measure study that cathedrals promote psychological health; 383 participants at a Christmas service completed the same well-being measure before and after the service, with a significant increase in scores at time two.

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“…This festival featured a large artificial skating rink in the centre of the nave, as well as 105 Christmas trees in the side aisles and chancel, decorated by local businesses, charities, church groups and individuals. Coleman, Bowman and Sepp (2019) explored how Christmas presents both an opportunity and a challenge for cathedrals, drawing on data from an interdisciplinary study of four English cathedrals: Canterbury, Durham, York (all Anglican), and Westminster (Roman Catholic).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Implicit religion, Anglican cathedrals, and spiritual wellbeing: The impact of carol services

Francis,

McKenna,

Stewart

2024

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies

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Rooted in the field of cathedral studies, this paper draws into dialogue three bodies of knowledge: Edward Bailey’s notion of implicit religion that, among other things, highlights the continuing traction of the Christian tradition and Christian practice within secular societies; David Walker’s notion of the multiple ways through which in secular societies people may relate to the Christian tradition as embodied within the Anglican Church and John Fisher’s notion of spiritual wellbeing as conceptualised in relational terms. Against this conceptual background, this paper draws on data provided by 1234 participants attending one of the Christmas Eve carol services in Liverpool Cathedral to explore the perceived impact of attendance on the spiritual health of people who do not believe in God and yet feel that Liverpool Cathedral is their cathedral, and it is this sense of belonging that brings them back at Christmas time.Contribution: Situated within the science of cathedral studies, this paper links in an original way three fields of discourse: Edward Bailey’s notion of implicit religion, David Walker’s notion of the four ways of belonging to God facilitated by the Anglican Church and John Fisher’s conceptualisation and operationalisation of the notion of spiritual wellbeing. The hypothesis developed from this original integration of theoretical perspectives is then tested empirically on data provided by 404 participants at carol services who do not believe in God.

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A Cathedral Is Not Just for Christmas:

Cited by 20 publications

References 0 publications

The Science of Cathedral Studies: Exploring Demographic Profile, Motivational Intentions, and Perceived Impact among those Attending the Holly Bough Service in Liverpool Cathedral

The Science of Cathedral Studies: Exploring Demographic Profile, Motivational Intentions, and Perceived Impact among those Attending the Holly Bough Service in Liverpool Cathedral

Cathedrals as agents of psychological health and well-being within secular societies: Assessing the impact of the Holly Bough service in Liverpool Cathedral

Implicit religion, Anglican cathedrals, and spiritual wellbeing: The impact of carol services

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