The Death of Christian Britain: Understanding Secularisation, 1800–2000 (Christianity and Society in the Modern World) - Hardcover

Brown, Callum G.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0415471338 ISBN 13: 9780415471336

Publisher: Routledge, 2009

Synopsis

The Death of Christian Britain examines how the nation’s dominant religious culture has been destroyed. Callum Brown challenges the generally held view that secularization was a long and gradual process dating from the industrial revolution. Instead, he argues that it has been a catastrophic and abrupt cultural revolution starting in the 1960s. Using the latest techniques of gender analysis, and by listening to people's voices rather than purely counting heads, the book offers new formulations of religion and secularization.

In this expanded second edition, Brown responds to commentary on his ideas, reviews the latest research, and provides new evidence to back his claims.

About this title

Review

The Church of England is dying, says Callum Brown, in The Death of Christian Britain. So, what's new? The difference, according to the Scottish historian, is in how long it's taken to reach the point of no return. Secularization theory, which emerged with the social sciences in the 19th century, was obsessed with the numbers of people not attending church. As the Industrial Revolution spread, Christians seized upon these numbers to illustrate how godforsaken our cities were becoming. Yet Brown argues this "authorized version" is mistaken. According to him, secularization began when the Beatles were releasing their first single in 1962. Instead of counting heads, he draws on anecdotal and cultural references to argue that Christianity was alive and well until the Swinging '60s. It just wasn't going to church....

He sheds fascinating (and sympathetic) light on the history of conversion, social action, and the church's public role in the nation. And his use of gender theory in the study of religion could be revolutionary. This may be a textbook, but it engages the mind and the soul. Sociologists and Christians in particular will be challenged to think harder. For "the Britain of the new millennium is showing the world how religion as we have known it can die." This is bound to unnerve Christians. Many might even take issue with the title, and refuse to read on. But to do so would be folly: a week spent immersed in Brown's book could reap substantially more fruit than a series of revival meetings. --Brian Draper, Amazon.co.uk

About the Author

Callum Brown is Professor of Religious and Cultural History at the University of Dundee. His publications include Religion and Society in Twentieth-Century Britain (2006) and Postmodernism for Historians (2005).

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0415471338
• ISBN 13: 9780415471336
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 320