Religion In Britain - A Persistent Paradox 2E

Religion in Britain traces the fascinating development of the religious situation in Britain, picking up from Davie's widely praised publication Religion in Britain Since 1945, published in 1994. Davie has made extensive revisions to this text, with the majority of the book re-written for this new edition, while retaining the same, sharp sociological perspective.

Religion in Britain describes and explains the religious situation in twenty-first century Britain. In doing so, it specifically reflects on six factors that have influenced the religious circumstances in the country: cultural heritage, the inherited model, a shift from obligation to consumption, new arrivals, secular reactions and an increasing awareness that the relative secularity of Britain is, although similar to the rest of Europe, an exceptional case in global terms.

The result is paradoxical. In terms of statistical indices Britain is noticeably more secular than it was 20 years ago, but religion is more present in public debate. Davie investigates how we can account for these seeming contradictions, and explores the consequences for different sections of society, such as the church, faith communities more generally, the law, politics, education and welfare. The book concludes with a range of theoretical reflections, which include an urgent need to improve standards of religious literacy.

Grace Davie is Professor Emeritus in the Sociology of Religion at the University of Exeter, UK, and a senior adviser to the Impact of Religion Research Programme at Uppsala University. She is a past-president of the American Association for the Sociology of Religion (2003).