Reimagining Britain: Foundations for Hope - Hardcover

Welby, Justin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1472946073 ISBN 13: 9781472946072

Publisher: Bloomsbury Continuum, 2018

Synopsis

In a time of political turbulence, and as the Welfare State totters under the strain in a country that has changed dramatically since 1945, Archbishop Justin Welby sets out to identify the values that will enable us to reimagine, and to enact, a more hopeful future.

The thesis is that the work of reimagining is as great as it was in 1945, and will happen either by accident – and thus badly – or deliberately. The author draws on Britain's history and Christian tradition to identify this country's foundational values, and the building blocks necessary to implement them in a post-Brexit, multicultural society.

He explores the areas in which values are translated into action, including the traditional three of recent history: health (especially public, and mental), housing and education. To these he adds family; the environment; economics and finance; peacebuilding and overseas development; immigration; and integration. He looks particularly at the role of faith groups in enabling, and contributing to, a fairer future.

When so many are immobilized by political turmoil, this book builds on our past to offer hope for the future, and practical ways of achieving a more equitable society.

About this title

About the Author

Justin Welby is the Archbishop of Canterbury. Before ordination, he worked in the oil industry, becoming group treasurer of a large British exploration and production company. He has for many years been closely involved in reconciliation work, both at home and overseas.

He is the author of Dethroning Mammon: The Archbishop of Canterbury's Lent Book 2017.

Review

"A brave, passionate and provocative case for community, courage and stability, not simply as concepts for debate but as foundations for practical change – for ourselves, for each other and for those we will never meet." - Loretta Minghella, OBE

"[T]his call to a strong sense of national narrative, collective responsibility and a shared moral code is both powerful and timely." - Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

"This is a book bristling with energy and ideas. Written against a wide canvas of historical narrative and critique, it is a fast-moving appeal for the fashioning of deeper virtue, expressed in action, in the form of a shared narrative of our identity and purpose." - Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster

"Justin Welby’s voice is powerful and distinctive. He writes with verve and insight. Reimagining Britain is a work of supreme timeliness." - Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield

"This courageous and perceptive call to mobilise for the common good of Britain comes at a crucial time. No other leader has offered such a powerful combination of realism, depth and practical priorities." - David F. Ford OBE, Regius Professor of Divinity, University of Cambridge

"Timely, wise, humane, positive – just what is needed to focus the national debate on shared values and creating a better future, particularly for the half of the country left behind by ‘modernisation’ and ‘globalisation.’" - Lord Adonis

"With an astonishing range of understanding and a perspective both global and granular, Justin Welby identifies values that are true to our heritage and fertile for our hope ... Archbishop Ramsey once told priests to be ‘with God with the people on your heart’; here Archbishop Welby is with God with the nation on his heart, and the result is rigour and compassion in equal measure." - The Revd Dr Sam Wells

"An important attempt to build a contemporary narrative of who we are as a country: rooted in our traditions, values and history, but resolutely forward-looking. At a time of great flux in the world, knowing – and being able to describe – who we are is more important than ever." - Brendan Cox

"Bigger than politics and broader than religion – a timely and inspiring read that requires response." - Paula Vennells, Chief Executive of the Post Office

"An important contribution to understanding how the UK can not only move forward but flourish by reimagining its narrative of hope." - Bishop Dame Sarah Mullally, Bishop-designate of London

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Continuum
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1472946073
• ISBN 13: 9781472946072
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320