Dogma, authority and religious reflection in a Church of England parish in Wiltshire.

The central aim of this study is to identify and describe the ways in which conventionally religious people show varying degrees of flexibility in matters of belief. An attempt is made to examine the range of attitudes and approaches to belief in a particular context, and to explore the extent to which some place themselves firmly within a particular dogmatic stance, claiming a strong authority for doing so, whilst others seem to approach their religion without many preconceptions, and in the spirit of an open enquiry. This is a practitioner study, where a professional is engaged in a critical examination of his own work by means of qualitative research methodology.The study is based on thirty interviews with a cross-section of the members of the eclectic congregation of a large Anglican parish church in the market town of Chippenham in Wiltshire. The researcher is the vicar of the parish concerned. Members are selected according to gender, age and churchmanship. The interviews are analysed in the light and context of contemporary psychological, sociological and theological insights.The thesis concludes with a discussion of the significance of the existence of such a range of beliefs and attitudes to belief within one specific religious setting. There is potential for profound disagreement and division, and a consideration is made of the pastoral possibilities and implications of the research.