A Grain of Faith

Religion in Mid-Century British Literature

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy
Cover of the book A Grain of Faith by Allan Hepburn, OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Allan Hepburn ISBN: 9780192563651
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: November 22, 2018
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author: Allan Hepburn
ISBN: 9780192563651
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: November 22, 2018
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

During and after the Second World War, there was a concerted thinking about religion in Britain. Not only were leading international thinkers of the day theologians—Ronald Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, Jacques Maritain—but leading writers contributed to discussions about religion. Graham Greene, Muriel Spark, and Barbara Pym incorporated miracles, evil, and church-going into their novels, while Louis MacNeice, T. S. Eliot, and C. S. Lewis gave radio broadcasts about the role of Christianity in contemporary society. Certainly the war revived interest in aspects of Christian life. Salvation and redemption were on many people's minds. The Ministry of Information used images of bombed churches to stoke patriotic fervour, and King George VI led a series of Days of National Prayer that coincided with crucial events in the Allied campaign. After the war and throughout the 1950s, approximately 1.4 million Britons converted to Roman Catholicism as a way of expressing their spiritual ambitions and solidarity with humanity on a world-wide scale. Religion provided one way for writers to answer the question, 'what is man?' It also afforded ways to think about social obligation and ethical engagement. Moreover, the mid-century turn to religion offered ways to articulate statehood, not from the perspective of nationhood and politics, but from the perspective of moral action and social improvement. Instead of being a retreat into seclusion and solitude, the mid-century turn to religion is a call to responsibility.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

During and after the Second World War, there was a concerted thinking about religion in Britain. Not only were leading international thinkers of the day theologians—Ronald Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, Jacques Maritain—but leading writers contributed to discussions about religion. Graham Greene, Muriel Spark, and Barbara Pym incorporated miracles, evil, and church-going into their novels, while Louis MacNeice, T. S. Eliot, and C. S. Lewis gave radio broadcasts about the role of Christianity in contemporary society. Certainly the war revived interest in aspects of Christian life. Salvation and redemption were on many people's minds. The Ministry of Information used images of bombed churches to stoke patriotic fervour, and King George VI led a series of Days of National Prayer that coincided with crucial events in the Allied campaign. After the war and throughout the 1950s, approximately 1.4 million Britons converted to Roman Catholicism as a way of expressing their spiritual ambitions and solidarity with humanity on a world-wide scale. Religion provided one way for writers to answer the question, 'what is man?' It also afforded ways to think about social obligation and ethical engagement. Moreover, the mid-century turn to religion offered ways to articulate statehood, not from the perspective of nationhood and politics, but from the perspective of moral action and social improvement. Instead of being a retreat into seclusion and solitude, the mid-century turn to religion is a call to responsibility.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book The Handbook of the Law of Visiting Forces by Allan Hepburn
Cover of the book The International Sale of Goods by Allan Hepburn
Cover of the book The Karamazov Brothers by Allan Hepburn
Cover of the book Linguistic Categorization by Allan Hepburn
Cover of the book The Return of Alsace to France, 1918-1939 by Allan Hepburn
Cover of the book Paul: A Very Short Introduction by Allan Hepburn
Cover of the book Stewart Parker by Allan Hepburn
Cover of the book Behavioral Methods in Consciousness Research by Allan Hepburn
Cover of the book Hobbes: A Very Short Introduction by Allan Hepburn
Cover of the book The Crisis of Method in Contemporary Analytic Philosophy by Allan Hepburn
Cover of the book Toleration and Understanding in Locke by Allan Hepburn
Cover of the book Britain Since 1945 by Allan Hepburn
Cover of the book Preventing Terrorism and Violent Extremism by Allan Hepburn
Cover of the book Layered Superconductors by Allan Hepburn
Cover of the book Mr Barry's War by Allan Hepburn
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy