Is God Still an Englishman?
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Review
** This exuberant and assured book posits the central dilemmas of our times . . . eccentric, mystifying and gripping (Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, INDEPENDENT )
** 'The Cole Moreton revealed in IS GOD STILL AN ENGLISHMAN? is intelligent, vulnerable, modest and philanthropic: an immensely likeable commentator on matters spiritual . . . It should be required reading for every English man and woman - whatever their (INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY )
** 'Absorbing, and colourful, as any religious ritual. He weaves in a witty, self-knowing, self-mocking account of his own faith journey . . . an elegant, potted social and cultural history of 1980s and 1990s Britain, told in the broad, sweeping manner of a prime-time BBC television history series, presented by an off-duty newscaster, full of wonderfully evocative references . . . There are many good things about this book, not least the personality of its author, which is stamped on every page. He can make you laugh out loud, and generates a momentum that has you turning the pages wanting it never to end. And his theory, when the party finally reaches its conclusion, namely that there is some kind of spiritual something going on here right now, is intriguing (Peter Sandford, OBSERVER )
** 'There were times during this book when I thought it was one of the most perceptive and original studies of the English that I've read in ages (SUNDAY TIMES ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
** 'The Cole Moreton revealed in IS GOD STILL AN ENGLISHMAN? is intelligent, vulnerable, modest and philanthropic: an immensely likeable commentator on matters spiritual . . . It should be required reading for every English man and woman - whatever their (INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY )
** 'Absorbing, and colourful, as any religious ritual. He weaves in a witty, self-knowing, self-mocking account of his own faith journey . . . an elegant, potted social and cultural history of 1980s and 1990s Britain, told in the broad, sweeping manner of a prime-time BBC television history series, presented by an off-duty newscaster, full of wonderfully evocative references . . . There are many good things about this book, not least the personality of its author, which is stamped on every page. He can make you laugh out loud, and generates a momentum that has you turning the pages wanting it never to end. And his theory, when the party finally reaches its conclusion, namely that there is some kind of spiritual something going on here right now, is intriguing (Peter Sandford, OBSERVER )
** 'There were times during this book when I thought it was one of the most perceptive and original studies of the English that I've read in ages (SUNDAY TIMES ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Book Description
* A compelling narrative of Britain's changing culture and attitude to religion since the 1980s * Who are we? What do we believe? Where are we going?
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Is God Still An Englishman? is a made up of three seamlessly interwoven strands - a social and political history of the British people's increasing disillusionment with authority, government and institutions over the last 30 years; a history of the UK church over the same period and how this is related to wider social change; and a startlingly honest and open account of Cole Moreton's own personal religious journey. Many of the events described are still sharp in the nation's shared memory and consciousness. Moreton's ability to identify how different social trends knit together, and to pinpoint key events that fed change in the 'atmosphere' of the nation, are insightful and persuasive. It's also a beautifully written and very readable book - stimulating, funny, touching and discomforting. Recommended not only for those interested in recent church history, but anyone wanting to delve deeper into the evolution of the British collective conscience over recent decades.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Is God Still An Englishman?
How we lost our faith but found new soul.
Cole Moreton, Little Brown, 2010
If you only read one book about religion this year, make sure it's this one. Cole Moreton has produced a fantastic social history of popular faith in England over the last thirty years. It begins with the Royal Wedding of Charles and Diana in 1981 and takes in every major event from then till now, tracing how each event has been a nail in the coffin of the established Church of England as the arbiter of the nation's spiritual beliefs. In 1981, the great English God was still more or less in control though his days were numbered even then. Since the Elizabethan Settlement in 1559 when the Church of England was formally established defined but the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity in pretty much the form we knew it in the 80s. The tenets of this national religion, were fair play, the stiff upper lip and knowing one's place in the great scheme of things. Over the last 30 years, Moreton maintains, the high place of this God, his national church and the Establishment which maintained them have been gradually eroded, till Anglicanism is just one of the possible faiths on offer in the post-modern market place and has lost its distinctiveness, splintering into several different tribes, all fighting for the dwindling stock of believers and adherents.
Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. While this great national faith gave the nation a shape and form which held it together over five hundred years, it had become stifling, crippling creativity and new expressions of faith. Moreton outlines how the Soul of England is changing to become more accepting, more honest, less rigid and buttoned-up. In the process he tells his own story of being let down but the certainty-riddled faith of his youth and his search, still not entirely over, for something more real.
The book is powerfully written in an informal style, taking chart hits for chapter headings, yet it is a serious piece of social history which gives us an entirely consistent interpretation of the events of the past thirty years and the transformation of the God of the English from Colonel Blimp and sends him out naked for a gambol in the forest. The kinds of Christians who still pine after the certainty of their youth will no doubt find its conclusions unsatisfactory, but they cannot deny its argument and will need to take it into account in any self-assessment they attempt in the future. For the rest of us, this book is a Progressive Patriot of the Spirit and a rallying call for a more open-ended truth and a spiritual search which, like the spirit, blows where she will.
Derek A Collins, Editor, Another Plane
How we lost our faith but found new soul.
Cole Moreton, Little Brown, 2010
If you only read one book about religion this year, make sure it's this one. Cole Moreton has produced a fantastic social history of popular faith in England over the last thirty years. It begins with the Royal Wedding of Charles and Diana in 1981 and takes in every major event from then till now, tracing how each event has been a nail in the coffin of the established Church of England as the arbiter of the nation's spiritual beliefs. In 1981, the great English God was still more or less in control though his days were numbered even then. Since the Elizabethan Settlement in 1559 when the Church of England was formally established defined but the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity in pretty much the form we knew it in the 80s. The tenets of this national religion, were fair play, the stiff upper lip and knowing one's place in the great scheme of things. Over the last 30 years, Moreton maintains, the high place of this God, his national church and the Establishment which maintained them have been gradually eroded, till Anglicanism is just one of the possible faiths on offer in the post-modern market place and has lost its distinctiveness, splintering into several different tribes, all fighting for the dwindling stock of believers and adherents.
Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. While this great national faith gave the nation a shape and form which held it together over five hundred years, it had become stifling, crippling creativity and new expressions of faith. Moreton outlines how the Soul of England is changing to become more accepting, more honest, less rigid and buttoned-up. In the process he tells his own story of being let down but the certainty-riddled faith of his youth and his search, still not entirely over, for something more real.
The book is powerfully written in an informal style, taking chart hits for chapter headings, yet it is a serious piece of social history which gives us an entirely consistent interpretation of the events of the past thirty years and the transformation of the God of the English from Colonel Blimp and sends him out naked for a gambol in the forest. The kinds of Christians who still pine after the certainty of their youth will no doubt find its conclusions unsatisfactory, but they cannot deny its argument and will need to take it into account in any self-assessment they attempt in the future. For the rest of us, this book is a Progressive Patriot of the Spirit and a rallying call for a more open-ended truth and a spiritual search which, like the spirit, blows where she will.
Derek A Collins, Editor, Another Plane
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Looking for faith ... finding soul
A highly readable review of the place of faith and belonging in Britain over the past 30 years. Cole Moreton is informed, fair, angry, gracious, betrayed and hopeful in equal... Read more
Published 8 months ago by www.fosten.com
smug, self-indulgent and unoriginal
I don't know why I wasted my time on this book (although by persevering as far as page 292 I happened across a splendid typo, 'the Royal Anglican Regiment'). Read more
Published 9 months ago by Stephen
God was never an Englishman
The British flag is called the Union Jack because Britain consists of several of the lost tribes of Israel (Union Jack means - Union of Jacob). Read more
Published 11 months ago by Thomas E. Christopher
Through A Maze, Darkly
This book is partly one person's personal quest, partly an attempt at a history of popular religion and culture over the past quarter century or so, partly a musing on various... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Ian Millard
English born & bred
I got a lot from this book. Although not agreeing with everything written, I think that Cole Morton has opened up some valid debates and introduced many interesting takes on life... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Patricia Morris
An excellent moving read
I've just finished reading Is God Still An Englishman. It's an excellent book. It entwines the author's very personal, moving and funny search for meaning in life, with a social,... Read more
Published on 12 May 2010 by Village Reader
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