Bourdieu, Capital, and Conflict in a Religious Field: The Case of the ‘Homosexuality’ Conflict in the Anglican Communion

Abstract

Although Bourdieu's sociological project is a generalised sociology of religion, his work has not been as influential among sociologists of religion as one might have expected it to be. In this article we provide an overview of Bourdieu's analysis of religion, paying particular attention to key problems that have been identified in the literature and suggesting how his work can be understood in such a way as to overcome these limitations. Drawing upon research by two of the authors, we show how Bourdieu's sociology is helpful for understanding the conflicts over sexuality in the Anglican Communion.

Notes

Notes

1. In contrast to the ethos of the American political party, republicanism here refers to the principles of the French revolution, when France was declared a republic in 1792. Disestablishment of the Church (seen as a component of the ancient régime) sometimes goes as far as outright anti-clericalism, although minority religions (Protestantism and Judaism) also tend to be broadly republican. The church has long since been disestablished (in 1905; it gave up its claims to establishment after Vatican II), but is still a key cultural-political marker.

2. The motion was passed, with 526 bishops in favour, 70 opposed, and 45 abstentions noted (with almost 100 votes unaccounted for).

3. All names are pseudonyms. Primates, metropolitans, and archbishops are referred to here as bishops. As they are individuals who are well known to a large public, we are unable, for reasons of confidentiality, to identify the provinces from which the bishops come or the number from each province, as they appear in our sample.