Congregational studies in the UK 2005–2025

I depict Congregational Studies as a multi-disciplinary field of study using the metaphor of a cairn. A sketch of the UK literature between 2005 and 2025 is offered, showing promising foundations upon which mostly individual researchers and doctoral students have placed studies that largely take an insider perspective and serve ecclesial ends. The contours of the literature in relation to discipline, methodology and tradition are sketched. The literature on five themes most prevalent in the literature of the last five years is summarised, and extrinsic questions are proposed to suggest a different way of viewing the significance of the field. I conclude that asking different questions may act as a beacon alongside the cairn, shedding light on the potential for greater collaboration between researchers, institutions and congregational practitioners, along with the denominations and agencies that support them.