Denominational, communal and associational modes of religious belonging: a study of church members in the burgh of Falkirk

This thesis is a sociological investigation of church membership in the Scottish burgh of Falkirk. Its primary aim is to explore the meanings of church membership from within a theoretical context which seeks to adapt and utilise traditional conceptualisations of church and sect by employing them as dynamic forms of belonging rather than as types of institutions. Two principal hypotheses are formulated and tested; 1) that the ecclesiastical tradition to which church members belong (denomination) contributes to their distinctive styles of social, economic and political behaviour as well as to the social, economic and political values which they uphold; and that 2) communal and associational forms of church membership, corresponding in part to the qualities of church-type and sect-type religious organisations, transcend the formal denominational boundaries and dissect the internal structures of the denominations. In discussing communal and associational forms of church membership the theories of socialisation espoused by Thomas Luckmann and Peter Berger are used to illustrate how communal and associational forms of church membership are indicative of church members' differing perceptions of their social world.The hypotheses are empirically explored through an examination of a sample of church members selected randomly from the ecclesiastical traditions represented in Falkirk and a random sample of non churoh members. The majority of the data discussed were obtained from a series of intensive interviews held with two hundred and thirty-six informants.The thesis consists of eleven chapters. The first two are devoted to describing the sociological and theological basis upon which the investigation was conducted* the details of the procedures adopted, the historical back¬ ground of the burgh, and some of the general statistical data relating to the churches. Chapters three to six are devoted to an examination of the hypotheses in relation to the church members * participation in institutional religion. These chapters set out to describe the motivations and processes whereby people become members of the churches, the nature of their participation in the life of the churches, the nature of leadership within the churches, and the ways in which the church members conceptualise the Church and their membership of it. Chapters seven, eight and nine examine the hypotheses in relation to the church members* participation in social structures beyond the churches, the family, voluntary associations, politics and the world of work. Chapter ten is devoted to a separate consideration of the non church members who were interviewed. The final ohapter presents the major conclusions arising from the thesis through a reconsideration of the two hypotheses. The major conclusions were that membership of a denominational group is apparently more influential than any other factor examined in determining the over-all life of the church member. There are clear distinctions between the denominational groups which transcend any class differences which exist within a denomination. There are however significant differences of class between the denominations and significant differences between communal and associations! members within the denominations

Multiorgan MRI findings after hospitalisation with COVID-19 in the UK (C-MORE): a prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study

Introduction: The multiorgan impact of moderate to severe coronavirus infections in the post-acute phase is still poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities after hospitalisation with COVID-19, evaluate their determinants, and explore associations with patient-related outcome measures. Methods: In a prospective, UK-wide, multicentre MRI follow-up study (C-MORE), adults (aged ≥18 years) discharged from hospital following COVID-19 who were included in Tier 2 of the Post-hospitalisation COVID-19 study (PHOSP-COVID) and contemporary controls with no evidence of previous COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibody negative) underwent multiorgan MRI (lungs, heart, brain, liver, and kidneys) with quantitative and qualitative assessment of images and clinical adjudication when relevant. Individuals with end-stage renal failure or contraindications to MRI were excluded. Participants also underwent detailed recording of symptoms, and physiological and biochemical tests. The primary outcome was the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities (two or more organs) relative to controls, with further adjustments for potential confounders. The C-MORE study is ongoing and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04510025. Findings: Of 2710 participants in Tier 2 of PHOSP-COVID, 531 were recruited across 13 UK-wide C-MORE sites. After exclusions, 259 C-MORE patients (mean age 57 years [SD 12]; 158 [61%] male and 101 [39%] female) who were discharged from hospital with PCR-confirmed or clinically diagnosed COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and Nov 1, 2021, and 52 non-COVID-19 controls from the community (mean age 49 years [SD 14]; 30 [58%] male and 22 [42%] female) were included in the analysis. Patients were assessed at a median of 5·0 months (IQR 4·2–6·3) after hospital discharge. Compared with non-COVID-19 controls, patients were older, living with more obesity, and had more comorbidities. Multiorgan abnormalities on MRI were more frequent in patients than in controls (157 [61%] of 259 vs 14 [27%] of 52; p<0·0001) and independently associated with COVID-19 status (odds ratio [OR] 2·9 [95% CI 1·5–5·8]; padjusted=0·0023) after adjusting for relevant confounders. Compared with controls, patients were more likely to have MRI evidence of lung abnormalities (p=0·0001; parenchymal abnormalities), brain abnormalities (p<0·0001; more white matter hyperintensities and regional brain volume reduction), and kidney abnormalities (p=0·014; lower medullary T1 and loss of corticomedullary differentiation), whereas cardiac and liver MRI abnormalities were similar between patients and controls. Patients with multiorgan abnormalities were older (difference in mean age 7 years [95% CI 4–10]; mean age of 59·8 years [SD 11·7] with multiorgan abnormalities vs mean age of 52·8 years [11·9] without multiorgan abnormalities; p<0·0001), more likely to have three or more comorbidities (OR 2·47 [1·32–4·82]; padjusted=0·0059), and more likely to have a more severe acute infection (acute CRP >5mg/L, OR 3·55 [1·23–11·88]; padjusted=0·025) than those without multiorgan abnormalities. Presence of lung MRI abnormalities was associated with a two-fold higher risk of chest tightness, and multiorgan MRI abnormalities were associated with severe and very severe persistent physical and mental health impairment (PHOSP-COVID symptom clusters) after hospitalisation. Interpretation: After hospitalisation for COVID-19, people are at risk of multiorgan abnormalities in the medium term. Our findings emphasise the need for proactive multidisciplinary care pathways, with the potential for imaging to guide surveillance frequency and therapeutic stratification