History, religion, and identity in modern Britain

The twentieth century has not been kind to Britain. The great empire of the Victorian Age now seems a distant echo. The transformation in status and power has inevitably been accompanied by a pervasive questioning about the very nature of 'British' history. How are its characteristics determined? The essays, written over the past twenty-five years, in History, Religion and Identity in Modern Britain can all be said, in one way or another, to be concerned with the 'Identity of Britain' in the modern period. They complement and elaborate themes developed in Keith Robbins' books. In the first group, as a former editor of History and President of the Historical Association, the author considers how British historians have themselves reflected and shaped the national understanding of the British past. He discusses the implications of such debates for the present. Have we reached the end of British history in the age of European integration? In the second group, attention is concentrated on beliefs and values, ranging from aspects of Edwardian religion to the problems posed for the churches by the rise of Nazism. This section also includes a discussion of religion and national identity in modern Britain. Another essay takes 1940 as its reference point for a searching enquiry into contemporary understandings of 'Christian Civilization'. What kind of Christian country was Britain? The third group, reflecting the author's teaching experience in England, Scotland and Wales, approaches the puzzling problem of the nature of 'Britishness' from distinct angles.