Review by Choice Review
This book focuses exclusively on baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) from the UK and Canada who left the Anglican Church. Day (sociology, Univ. of London, UK) examines both the process by which they left and their reasons for doing so. Her interviewees were never particularly religious: their parents forced their involvement because religion was socially acceptable. As a result, most left the church (unopposed by their parents) in their adolescence or young adulthood, when their social worlds shifted. They were driven away from religion by doubts, revelations of immorality within religions, and shifts in cultural values that resulted in a misalignment between their values and the values of the Anglican Church. The book concludes with a discussion of what those who left do believe. Most pointed to humanism, some with a sense of spirituality understood in a primarily secular way. None of those interviewed intended to return and most had raised their children without religion. The book is insightful but needlessly detailed in places. A good editor could have dealt with repetitive/unnecessary content. In addition removal of in-text URLs would have resulted in a shorter and better book. Summing Up: Optional. Graduate students, researchers, faculty. --Ryan T. Cragun, The University of Tampa
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
