Becoming Evangelical: Life and Liminalities in Christian Youth Groups
Autor Rob Barward-Symmonsen Limba Engleză Hardback – 6 noi 2026
Rob Barward-Symmons argues for the significance of the adolescent experience within evangelicalism, and explores how adult experience and subjectivity forms in these overlooked spaces. Through the lens of ritual and rites of passage theory, the book argues that the youth group period can be understood as one of sustained liminality for group members, enabled through spatial and structural separation between the youth and adult evangelical contexts.
Grounded in the case study, each of the chapters begin with an extended ethnographic vignette, with other fieldwork reflections and first-hand interview quotes incorporated through the analysis. The book raises important questions about whether the rite of becoming an evangelical subject is truly complete, and whether adult evangelical spaces can accommodate the lingering liminality fostered in youth group spaces.
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Specificații
ISBN-13: 9781350532489
ISBN-10: 1350532487
Pagini: 240
Ilustrații: 8 bw illus
Dimensiuni: 156 x 234 x 25 mm
Greutate: 0.45 kg
Editura: Bloomsbury Publishing
Colecția Bloomsbury Academic
Locul publicării:London, United Kingdom
ISBN-10: 1350532487
Pagini: 240
Ilustrații: 8 bw illus
Dimensiuni: 156 x 234 x 25 mm
Greutate: 0.45 kg
Editura: Bloomsbury Publishing
Colecția Bloomsbury Academic
Locul publicării:London, United Kingdom
Cuprins
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Separation and the Self in Sacred Space and Secular Society
2. Negotiating Separation in Secular Society
3. Faith Formation Among Friends: Peers and Communitas
4. Pedagogy and Practices of Uncertainty in PM
5. Life Beyond The Incomplete Ritual
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Separation and the Self in Sacred Space and Secular Society
2. Negotiating Separation in Secular Society
3. Faith Formation Among Friends: Peers and Communitas
4. Pedagogy and Practices of Uncertainty in PM
5. Life Beyond The Incomplete Ritual
Bibliography
Recenzii
Becoming Evangelical offers rich and nuanced insight into the contemporary formation of evangelical subjectivities in church youth groups. Barward-Symmons develops a thought-provoking portrait of young evangelicals' values, questions, and everyday experiences, centering the often-overlooked voices of teenagers. The book is important reading for all those interested in young people's engagements with faith, and in contemporary evangelical cultures more widely.
Rob Barward-Symmons has written a compelling, empathetic study of evangelical adolescents within a British church. His ethnographic research enriches our understanding by taking young people's experiences seriously and subjecting them to careful, sensitive analysis. Viewing a Christian youth group through the lens of rites of passage, Barward-Symmons challenges common assumptions about religious conversion and the role of uncertainty in the formation of evangelical identities. There is much to be learned from this highly engaging book.
By demonstrating the critical role that popular culture and old sofas play in how young evangelicals construct their tradition, Becoming Evangelical sheds important light on why so many evangelical youths leave the church in adulthood. Barward-Symmons's engaging ethnography highlights the struggles these young people have transitioning from the open environment of the youth group with its cozy chairs and hangout culture to the more rigid pews and structured participation of adult membership. With its careful attention to firsthand experiences and nuanced analysis, Becoming Evangelical is an important book for scholars and practitioners alike.
Becoming Evangelical immerses readers in the youth group of St Aidan's, through an in-depth ethnography of young people's experiences within evangelicalism. Barward-Symmons reveals how evangelical youth ministry operates as an overlooked rite of passage - a liminal space encouraging uncertainty, creativity, and discovery - abruptly disrupted by the transition into adult church contexts. He argues that this shift lacks effective reincorporation, leaving young adults unprepared for more binarized environments that limit exploration. This book will interest scholars of religion, youth workers and churches.
The voices of young people cannot be ignored by the evangelical Church in this deeply challenging book. It is calling the Church to acknowledge the vital role of community in the experience and formation of faith for all ages. Rob's work is thoughtful, compelling, and deeply scholarly. It deserves the attention of Church leaders, youth workers, and all who seek to create environments where faith can genuinely thrive.
This is a rich and thoughtful study that challenges settled assumptions about how evangelical faith is formed. By carefully attending to the lived experience of young people, Becoming Evangelical shows how uncertainty, community, and belonging are not failures of formation but central to it. The book offers fresh insights not only for scholars of evangelicalism, but for churches seeking more honest and humane ways of nurturing faith across generations.
Becoming Evangelical is the best of both worlds: a rigorous, academically-engaged, clear exploration of lived evangelical socialization, written in an accessible way for a range of audiences. I have a background studying contemporary evangelical identity, and I'm a long-time youth leader - reading this book, I wore both hats at once: it's applied, engaged and deeply human.
Rob Barward-Symmons has written a compelling, empathetic study of evangelical adolescents within a British church. His ethnographic research enriches our understanding by taking young people's experiences seriously and subjecting them to careful, sensitive analysis. Viewing a Christian youth group through the lens of rites of passage, Barward-Symmons challenges common assumptions about religious conversion and the role of uncertainty in the formation of evangelical identities. There is much to be learned from this highly engaging book.
By demonstrating the critical role that popular culture and old sofas play in how young evangelicals construct their tradition, Becoming Evangelical sheds important light on why so many evangelical youths leave the church in adulthood. Barward-Symmons's engaging ethnography highlights the struggles these young people have transitioning from the open environment of the youth group with its cozy chairs and hangout culture to the more rigid pews and structured participation of adult membership. With its careful attention to firsthand experiences and nuanced analysis, Becoming Evangelical is an important book for scholars and practitioners alike.
Becoming Evangelical immerses readers in the youth group of St Aidan's, through an in-depth ethnography of young people's experiences within evangelicalism. Barward-Symmons reveals how evangelical youth ministry operates as an overlooked rite of passage - a liminal space encouraging uncertainty, creativity, and discovery - abruptly disrupted by the transition into adult church contexts. He argues that this shift lacks effective reincorporation, leaving young adults unprepared for more binarized environments that limit exploration. This book will interest scholars of religion, youth workers and churches.
The voices of young people cannot be ignored by the evangelical Church in this deeply challenging book. It is calling the Church to acknowledge the vital role of community in the experience and formation of faith for all ages. Rob's work is thoughtful, compelling, and deeply scholarly. It deserves the attention of Church leaders, youth workers, and all who seek to create environments where faith can genuinely thrive.
This is a rich and thoughtful study that challenges settled assumptions about how evangelical faith is formed. By carefully attending to the lived experience of young people, Becoming Evangelical shows how uncertainty, community, and belonging are not failures of formation but central to it. The book offers fresh insights not only for scholars of evangelicalism, but for churches seeking more honest and humane ways of nurturing faith across generations.
Becoming Evangelical is the best of both worlds: a rigorous, academically-engaged, clear exploration of lived evangelical socialization, written in an accessible way for a range of audiences. I have a background studying contemporary evangelical identity, and I'm a long-time youth leader - reading this book, I wore both hats at once: it's applied, engaged and deeply human.