Animals, Anglicans, and cultures of prayer and worship in England, c.1900-c.1950

Studies of Christian worship understandably present churches as institutions that ministered to the needs of human communities. The article shows that worship in the Church of England has a non-human history. Key developments between 1900 and 1950, notably war, the growth of pet-keeping, and heightening concerns about the countryside, encouraged groups, inside and outside the Church, to push for rituals and liturgies that engaged with animals and animal issues in varied ways. The incorporation of animals in worship, the article argues, is an unappreciated aspect of broader changes in cultures of prayer, and an overlooked element in a modern history of Anglican efforts to reconnect the calendar of worship with the natural world.