His parents are very religious, his Dad is a reader for the church (church of England). They have a lot of friends through church.
His parents let Andrew and Charlotte (his sister) make up their own mind about religion and neither were christened. Both stopped attending church as teenagers, Andrew recently before he disappeared.
He still helped out at the church youth club and cutting grass. However these church youth clubs tend to welcome anyone. I attended one as a tween and they sometimes stopped us halfway through to tell a religious parable, but nobody really listened and we went straight back to games and arts and crafts afterwards.
Andrew attended a Catholic high school, but his mum and dad are Anglican, and Andrew attended an Anglican church.
Edit: it’s also a common misconception that the vicar that’s sometimes mentioned (Rev Alan Murray) was Andrew’s vicar. He wasn’t. He was a friend of Kevin’s since his uni days who regularly visited the family.
European Christians are usually Catholics, or the national orthodox or Protestant church (in the UK this is Anglican) and outside of big cities, the church is usually the centre of the community but most people aren’t devout Bible thumpers and attend due to tradition and community and it’s very normal for teenagers to drift away from the Church and its activities but come back when they are getting married and having children.
Andrew has Church of England parents, who didn't mind when him and his sister stopped attending church. For people outside the UK, especially those in the USA, it's important to bear in mind that most UK churches are not fundamentalist, evangelical or really strict about Christian beliefs and practices in general, with the weekly church services the Gosdens went to being more of a social group with some prayer and bible study than anything else. Like others have said here already, I think the Gosden's Christian faith gets confused on here as being something much more rigid and strict than it likely is.
Andrew was also likely open minded about other faiths and beliefs, as we know he borrowed some books about Islam for a school project and was generally very well read for his age.
It's been said that Andrew was reading the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche before he went to London, a very unusual choice of reading, especially at the age of 14. Despite living in 19th century Germany, Nietzsche was not a Christian, and was a critic of Christian morality and faith. This reading alongside Andrew's desire to stay at home on Sunday mornings could tell us a lot about Andrew's religious views.
Since Nietzsche's philosophy can be very introspective, and focused on finding one's values and purpose in this life, it could hint that Andrew was thinking about his life in a very deep way, which is why I think he may have been contemplating suicide or running away from home.
Not a lot. What I will say though is that a 14 year old pre-social media would be overwhelmingly likely to be far less politically aware than a 14 year old today.
He grew up in a deprived, working class area that is traditionally a Labour stronghold, so he may have been influenced to have a dislike for the Tories, but it's unlikely he had any political views to any meaningful depth at that age.
Likewise with his religious views. His parents are reasonably religious, but in UK terms, not American terms. They seem pretty normal. He went to a Catholic school, but I expect that was to do with it being a better school within reasonable travel distance, as his local Balby Carr high school is dreadful. Again, probably not particularly deep views. Either thinking it was dumb and boring, or fine with it, went along with it and held a level of belief from his upbringing.
This is all just speculation on my part but Andrew and his family were very normal in reality, and what I've written above would be very normal for someone from that area, pre-social media. I think the religiousness of his parents gets overblown sometimes to coincide with the "ran away because he was gay" theory. From what we know, they're just pretty normal UK church goers. I personally don't think politics or religion were any major driver in Andrew's life.
I’m not sure, but downvoting doesn’t change the fact that we know he was reading Neitzsche. Maybe people don’t want to think Andrew had a rebellious streak because the mystery is more thrilling to them if he’s a completely docile.
I doubt Andrew had any well rounded political views. In the UK this is something which usually comes to the fore around sixth form or first year of University.
In terms of his Churchgoing, some "faith" schools require Church attendance, especially Catholic schools.
In practice, parents and pupils who attend "faith" schools often have to have X amount of church attendance to maintain the school place, since "faith" schools tend to perform better and keep out certain elements - even though they might privately think it's a load of shite.
Andrew was getting into philosophy, particularly the work of Nietzsche, which gives us insight into what he was learning about on the religious and political spectrum - which obviously is not necessarily his beliefs, but it matches up with how his dad mentioned Andrew was really keen to have a sense of individuality.
Not sure why you're getting downvoted. I've just written a similar comment about his reading of Nietzsche, and how it might show the extent to which he was deeply contemplating his life. Nietzsche is a pretty heavy thing to be reading, especially at the age of 14, with a lot of his philosophy focusing on the rejection of the Christian faith and morality, the importance of 'creating your own destiny' and the existence of multiple perspectives on reality.
It's one of the reasons why I think there may have been something a lot deeper going on in Andrew's life, and that we're not just dealing with a day trip to London which went wrong.
I’m not sure, but downvoting doesn’t change the fact that we know he was reading Neitzsche. Maybe people don’t want to think Andrew had a rebellious streak because the mystery is more thrilling to them if he’s completely docile.
The thing is though is that Andrew clearly had a rebellious streak, otherwise he wouldn't have gone off to London that day behind his parents and his school's back would he?
Of course Andrew was still a victim of whatever happened that day (e.g grooming, theft, murder, child abduction, a mental health emergency, etc), but it doesn't change the fact that something made him think there was something better to do that day than go to school and live his conventional life. This could link to Nietzsche's philosophy or it could be a complete coincidence that this is what he happened to be reading before he chose to go to London.
To truly read and understand Nietzsche though requires a very deep level of introspection, which is why I think the philosopher's writing may have influenced Andrew's mentality before he left as it isn't really a typical reading book for most people, never mind a 14 year old.
I think all teenagers have that streak, just to varying degrees. Andrew’s parents - like a lot of decent, hard working parents whose kids are generally well behaved - were clearly oblivious to it/something. It’s interesting to me that people say “well, his parents said this, his parents said that”. Yes, and I’m sure they did so with complete sincerity, but they just didn’t know their son in the way they thought they did.
His parents are very religious, his Dad is a reader for the church (church of England). They have a lot of friends through church.
His parents let Andrew and Charlotte (his sister) make up their own mind about religion and neither were christened. Both stopped attending church as teenagers, Andrew recently before he disappeared.
He still helped out at the church youth club and cutting grass. However these church youth clubs tend to welcome anyone. I attended one as a tween and they sometimes stopped us halfway through to tell a religious parable, but nobody really listened and we went straight back to games and arts and crafts afterwards.
Andrew attended a Catholic high school, but his mum and dad are Anglican, and Andrew attended an Anglican church.
Edit: it’s also a common misconception that the vicar that’s sometimes mentioned (Rev Alan Murray) was Andrew’s vicar. He wasn’t. He was a friend of Kevin’s since his uni days who regularly visited the family.
This. I feel like theorists often overstate the religiosity of Andrew’s parents, like they are extremely bigoted fundies. They clearly aren’t.
I think it’s mainly Americans whose churches and beliefs are usually a bit more… hardcore. Church of England is generally more about community.
European Christians are usually Catholics, or the national orthodox or Protestant church (in the UK this is Anglican) and outside of big cities, the church is usually the centre of the community but most people aren’t devout Bible thumpers and attend due to tradition and community and it’s very normal for teenagers to drift away from the Church and its activities but come back when they are getting married and having children.
Presbyterian is just as prominent in the UK (Church of Scotland). Please stop treating all of the UK as if it is England.
Yup I am christened (baptised? Not sure of the right terminology) in Church of Scotland. You’re right, everyone forgets about us!
From what I’ve read they definitely don’t seem bigoted. I do think they sometimes seem a little naive, but that’s it really.
Andrew has Church of England parents, who didn't mind when him and his sister stopped attending church. For people outside the UK, especially those in the USA, it's important to bear in mind that most UK churches are not fundamentalist, evangelical or really strict about Christian beliefs and practices in general, with the weekly church services the Gosdens went to being more of a social group with some prayer and bible study than anything else. Like others have said here already, I think the Gosden's Christian faith gets confused on here as being something much more rigid and strict than it likely is.
Andrew was also likely open minded about other faiths and beliefs, as we know he borrowed some books about Islam for a school project and was generally very well read for his age.
It's been said that Andrew was reading the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche before he went to London, a very unusual choice of reading, especially at the age of 14. Despite living in 19th century Germany, Nietzsche was not a Christian, and was a critic of Christian morality and faith. This reading alongside Andrew's desire to stay at home on Sunday mornings could tell us a lot about Andrew's religious views.
Since Nietzsche's philosophy can be very introspective, and focused on finding one's values and purpose in this life, it could hint that Andrew was thinking about his life in a very deep way, which is why I think he may have been contemplating suicide or running away from home.
We know he enjoyed watching Mock The Week. That suggests a political awareness/interest
Not a lot. What I will say though is that a 14 year old pre-social media would be overwhelmingly likely to be far less politically aware than a 14 year old today.
He grew up in a deprived, working class area that is traditionally a Labour stronghold, so he may have been influenced to have a dislike for the Tories, but it's unlikely he had any political views to any meaningful depth at that age.
Likewise with his religious views. His parents are reasonably religious, but in UK terms, not American terms. They seem pretty normal. He went to a Catholic school, but I expect that was to do with it being a better school within reasonable travel distance, as his local Balby Carr high school is dreadful. Again, probably not particularly deep views. Either thinking it was dumb and boring, or fine with it, went along with it and held a level of belief from his upbringing.
This is all just speculation on my part but Andrew and his family were very normal in reality, and what I've written above would be very normal for someone from that area, pre-social media. I think the religiousness of his parents gets overblown sometimes to coincide with the "ran away because he was gay" theory. From what we know, they're just pretty normal UK church goers. I personally don't think politics or religion were any major driver in Andrew's life.
Maybe he had some knowledge of the Bible but it doesn't seem like he was particiularly religious.
I’m not sure, but downvoting doesn’t change the fact that we know he was reading Neitzsche. Maybe people don’t want to think Andrew had a rebellious streak because the mystery is more thrilling to them if he’s a completely docile.
I doubt Andrew had any well rounded political views. In the UK this is something which usually comes to the fore around sixth form or first year of University.
In terms of his Churchgoing, some "faith" schools require Church attendance, especially Catholic schools.
In practice, parents and pupils who attend "faith" schools often have to have X amount of church attendance to maintain the school place, since "faith" schools tend to perform better and keep out certain elements - even though they might privately think it's a load of shite.
Andrew was getting into philosophy, particularly the work of Nietzsche, which gives us insight into what he was learning about on the religious and political spectrum - which obviously is not necessarily his beliefs, but it matches up with how his dad mentioned Andrew was really keen to have a sense of individuality.
Not sure why you're getting downvoted. I've just written a similar comment about his reading of Nietzsche, and how it might show the extent to which he was deeply contemplating his life. Nietzsche is a pretty heavy thing to be reading, especially at the age of 14, with a lot of his philosophy focusing on the rejection of the Christian faith and morality, the importance of 'creating your own destiny' and the existence of multiple perspectives on reality.
It's one of the reasons why I think there may have been something a lot deeper going on in Andrew's life, and that we're not just dealing with a day trip to London which went wrong.
I’m not sure, but downvoting doesn’t change the fact that we know he was reading Neitzsche. Maybe people don’t want to think Andrew had a rebellious streak because the mystery is more thrilling to them if he’s completely docile.
The thing is though is that Andrew clearly had a rebellious streak, otherwise he wouldn't have gone off to London that day behind his parents and his school's back would he?
Of course Andrew was still a victim of whatever happened that day (e.g grooming, theft, murder, child abduction, a mental health emergency, etc), but it doesn't change the fact that something made him think there was something better to do that day than go to school and live his conventional life. This could link to Nietzsche's philosophy or it could be a complete coincidence that this is what he happened to be reading before he chose to go to London.
To truly read and understand Nietzsche though requires a very deep level of introspection, which is why I think the philosopher's writing may have influenced Andrew's mentality before he left as it isn't really a typical reading book for most people, never mind a 14 year old.
I think all teenagers have that streak, just to varying degrees. Andrew’s parents - like a lot of decent, hard working parents whose kids are generally well behaved - were clearly oblivious to it/something. It’s interesting to me that people say “well, his parents said this, his parents said that”. Yes, and I’m sure they did so with complete sincerity, but they just didn’t know their son in the way they thought they did.