Thinking socially: why it matters

Abstract

This article argues that a failure to draw on social and contextual perspectives, in both pastoral care and theological reflection, is behind failures in effective practice and theological reflection. This is demonstrated by reference to the clergy’s experience of pastoral care and some recent examples of theological reflection on the state of the Church today. Missing in both cases is reference to the social and contextual consequences of the catastrophic decline in church membership of the ‘long 1960s’. It is suggested that ignoring these factors reflects the impact of the decline.