Leslie J. Francis is Professor of Religions and Education within the University of Warwick. His original research concerning the connections between theology and the social sciences has been recognised by higher doctorates from the Universities of Oxford (DD), Cambridge (ScD) and Wales (DLitt).Mandy Robbins is Senior Research Fellow in the Warwick Religions and Education Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of Warwick. Jeff Astley is Directior of the ecumenical North of England Institute for Christian Education and Honorary Professorial Fellow in Practical Theology and Christian Education in the University of Durham.

• Preface ... xiIntroduction ... xiiiChapter One Establishing Truth from Participation and Distanciation in Empirical Theology ... 3Jaco S. DreyerChapter Two Truth and Method in Empirical Theology ... 27Hans SchildermanChapter Three Religious Identity in Comparative Research ... 41Johannes A. van der VenChapter Four Epistemological Reflections on the Connection between Ideas and Data in Empirical Research into Religion ... 73Chris A.M. HermansChapter Five Towards a Generic Model of Religious Ritual ... 101Hans SchildermanChapter Six Comparative Empirical Research in Religion: Conceptual and Operational Challenges within Empirical Theology ... 127Leslie J. Francis Chapter Seven Adolescents’ Views of Denominational Identities and of Dialogical Religious Education: An Empirical Study from Germany ... 155Friedrich SchweitzerChapter Eight Ordinary Soteriology: A Qualitative Study ... 177Ann Christie and Jeff AstleyChapter Nine Narrative Competence and the Meaning of Life: Measuring the Quality of Life Stories in a Project on Care for the Elderly ... 197Thijs Tromp and R. Ruard GanzevoortChapter Ten The Theological Case for Christian Schools in England and Wales: A Qualitative Perspective Listening to Female Alumnae ... 217Tania ap Siôn, Leslie J. Francis and Sylvia BakerChapter Eleven Faith or Morality? ‘Theological Sediments’ Depending on the Centrality, Content, and Social Context of Personal Religious Construct Systems ... 249Stefan Huber and Constantin KleinChapter Twelve Socialisation and Empirical-Theological Models of the Trinity: A Study among Theology Students in the United Kingdom ... 269Mark J. CartledgeChapter Thirteen Religious Socialisation in the Family: A Multi-dimensional and Multi-level Perspective ... 291Sabine Zehnder Grob, Christoph Morgenthaler and Christoph KäpplerChapter Fourteen Apostolic Networks in Britain: Personality and Praxis ... 321William K. KayChapter Fifteen Xenophobia and Religious Pluralism: An Empirical Study among Youth in Germany ... 339Hans-Georg Ziebertz and Ulrich RiegelChapter Sixteen A Church Divided by Theology and Practice: The Case of the Admission of Children to Communion in the Church in Wales ... 365Keith LittlerList of Contributors ... 387 Name index ... 393Subject index ... 401