イングランドで成立した英国国教会は、世界のあちらこちらでさまざまな分離派を生み出しました。その教義とはどのようなものでしょうか。本書では歴史や神学理論、組織などの研究を通じ、英国国教会の多様性をあぶり出します。また、同性愛容認や女性聖職者の誕生などで議論を呼ぶ国教会の現在と未来にも深く切り込んだ一冊です。
   

• Anglicanism is the English state church, and it also has more than 70 million followers throughout the world.
• Explains how Anglicanism is defined, and how it fits into the broader picture of Christianity. Is it largely Catholic? Or Protestant?
• Examines the diversity of contemporary Anglicanism, from England to the Mississippi and South Africa and Malaysia - looking at life, worship, and teaching in different churches.
• Takes the reader on an accessible history of the Anglican Church, and asks whether there really is a distinctive Anglican theology.
• Mark Chapman also looks at current developments and controversies, such as homosexuality and women priests, and offers thought-provoking suggestions for the future of Anglicanism.

  
What is Anglicanism? How is it different from other forms of Christianity, and how did it come to have so many different versions throughout the world? 
 
Although originally united by location and a common belief, Anglicanism has gradually lost its pre-eminence as the English state church due to increasing pluralisation and secularisation. While there are distinctive themes and emphases which emerge from its early history and theology, there is little sense of unity in Anglicanism today. 
 
In Anglicanism: A Very Short Introduction, Mark Chapman highlights the diversity of contemporary Anglicanism by exploring its fascinating history, theology, and structures. Putting the history and development of the religion into context, Chapman reveals what it is that holds Anglicanism together despite the recent crises that threaten to tear it apart.