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Identity, Argument and Schism: Two Longitudinal Studies of the Split in the Church of England over the Ordination of Women to the Priesthood

Department of Psychology, University of Dundee, f.sani{at}dundee.ac.uk

Steve Reicher

School of Psychology, University of St Andrews

This paper presents evidence from two studies which bears upon a social psychological approach to schisms. The two studies both relate to the split in the Church of England over the ordination of women and were conducted over the period when the first women became priests. The first is a qualitative study of leading proponents and opponents of the change. It is shown that, first, the Pros and Antis have differing constructions of the nature of the Church and of women's ordination. Second, all the Pros see the measure as affirming the essence of Church identity while all the Antis see ordination as subverting the essence of the Church and turning it into a sect. Third, the divisions are confirmed rather than attenuated over time and the sense that the essence has changed is used by Antis to justify the possibility of schism. The second study is quantitative and analyzes the way in which 185 activists (138 Pros and 47 Antis) construe the position of the Church in relation to other categories through the application of Multi-Dimensional Scaling. The findings corroborate those of the first study. Together, the studies both suggest the necessity to include a rhetorical and argumentative dimension to our understanding of social categorization and also support the contention that, when group members differ as to whether developments affirm or subvert group identity, discussion may not bring about consensus but rather can lead to further division and schism.

Key Words: schism • social categorization • social identity

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