Religious Authority and the Arts ─ Conversations in Political Theology

The transcripted conversations that represent the substance of this volume are the result of a research project funded by the United Kingdom’s Arts and Humanities Research Council. The product of nearly three years of interviews conducted with senior religious figures from a diversity of religious traditions, this book represents a physical and political-theological journey around England – from metropolitan capital through provincial cities and rural hinterlands, from rural episcopal palaces to industrial estates, from London mansion houses to remote mountain monastery – and provides a snapshot of how religious leaders and authority figures respond to contemporary issues of freedom of expression. Religious Authority and the Arts has a substantial introduction that situates the conversations within a theological, political, and cultural framework.

Liam Francis Gearon is Senior Research Fellow at Harris Manchester College and Associate Professor in the Department of Education, University of Oxford. With a doctorate in English literature, Dr. Gearon has wide multi- and interdisciplinary interests. He has written or edited more than twenty books in religion, politics, education, and literature, and has undertaken consultancy work for UNESCO, Paris. His work has been translated into a range of languages, including Georgian, Japanese, and Russian. Previous positions include two full professorships at Roehampton University and Plymouth University and two honorary professorships in Australia at the Australian Catholic University and at Newcastle University. He has undertaken funded research for the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the British Academy, and the Leverhulme Trust.