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Examines the role of Christianity in British statecraft, politics, media, the armed forces and in the education and socialization of the young during the Second World War.
This volume presents a major reappraisal of the role of Christianity in Great Britain between 1939 and 1945, examining the influence of Christianity on British society, statecraft, politics, the media, the armed forces, and on the education and socialization of the young. Its chapters address themes such as the spiritual mobilization of nation and empire; the limitations of Mass Observation's commentary on wartime religious life; Catholic responses to strategic bombing; servicemen and the dilemma of killing; the development of Christian-Jewish relations, and the predicament of British military chaplains in Germany in the summer of 1945.
By demonstrating the enduring -even renewed- importance of Christianity in British national life, British Christianity and the Second World War also sets the scene for some major post-war developments. Though the war years triggered a 'resacralization' of British society and culture, inherent racism meant that the exalted self-image of Christian Britain proved sadly deceptive for post-war immigrants from the Caribbean. Wartime confidence in the prospective role of the state in religious education soon transpired to be ill-founded, while the profound upheavals of war -and even the bromides of 'BBC Religion'- were, in the longer term, corrosive of conventional religious practice and traditional denominational loyalties.
This volume will be of interest to historians of British society and the Second World War, twentieth-century British religion, and the perennial interplay of religion and conflict.
This volume presents a major reappraisal of the role of Christianity in Great Britain between 1939 and 1945, examining the influence of Christianity on British society, statecraft, politics, the media, the armed forces, and on the education and socialization of the young. Its chapters address themes such as the spiritual mobilization of nation and empire; the limitations of Mass Observation's commentary on wartime religious life; Catholic responses to strategic bombing; servicemen and the dilemma of killing; the development of Christian-Jewish relations, and the predicament of British military chaplains in Germany in the summer of 1945.
By demonstrating the enduring -even renewed- importance of Christianity in British national life, British Christianity and the Second World War also sets the scene for some major post-war developments. Though the war years triggered a 'resacralization' of British society and culture, inherent racism meant that the exalted self-image of Christian Britain proved sadly deceptive for post-war immigrants from the Caribbean. Wartime confidence in the prospective role of the state in religious education soon transpired to be ill-founded, while the profound upheavals of war -and even the bromides of 'BBC Religion'- were, in the longer term, corrosive of conventional religious practice and traditional denominational loyalties.
This volume will be of interest to historians of British society and the Second World War, twentieth-century British religion, and the perennial interplay of religion and conflict.
Price: $120.00
Pages: 242
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Inc.
Imprint: Boydell Press
Publication Date:
21 February 2023
Trim Size: 9.21 X 6.14 in
ISBN: 9781837650194
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:
HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain / General, European history, RELIGION / History, History of religion
Each of the contributors provides an insightful reflection on the experience of British Christianity during the war. The book helps to paint a better picture of religious sensibilities in time of war and the ways it was manifested in the home, in the armed forces, both at home and abroad. Each chapter is concise and well researched enabling the book to be accessible to many readers
1 Introduction - Michael Snape
2 The British State and Spiritual Mobilization during the Second World War - Philip Williamson
3 Radio Religion: The British Broadcasting Corporation and Faith Propaganda at 'Home' and 'Overseas' in the Second World War - Hannah Elias
4 Getting the Message Out: Publishing 'British Christianity' 1939-1943 - Keith Robbins, completed by Stuart Bell
5 Christianity, Culture, and the Universities in Wartime England - Matthew Grimley
6 Mass Observation, Religion, and the Second World War: When 'Cooper's Snoopers' Caught the Spirit - Clive D. Field
7 British Sunday Schools during the Second World War - Caitriona McCartney
8 Principled or Pragmatic? English Nonconformist Opposition to Pacifism in the Inter-War Period - Stuart Bell
9 Where Loyalties Lie: English Catholic Responses to Allied Strategic Bombing in the Second World War - Joshua Madrid
10 British Christians and the Morality of Killing in the Second World War - John Broom
11 Jewish-Christian Relations in the Second World War - Jonathan M. Lewis
12 Agents of Occupation or Reconciliation? Army Chaplains in Germany in the Summer of 1945 - Peter Howson
Index
2 The British State and Spiritual Mobilization during the Second World War - Philip Williamson
3 Radio Religion: The British Broadcasting Corporation and Faith Propaganda at 'Home' and 'Overseas' in the Second World War - Hannah Elias
4 Getting the Message Out: Publishing 'British Christianity' 1939-1943 - Keith Robbins, completed by Stuart Bell
5 Christianity, Culture, and the Universities in Wartime England - Matthew Grimley
6 Mass Observation, Religion, and the Second World War: When 'Cooper's Snoopers' Caught the Spirit - Clive D. Field
7 British Sunday Schools during the Second World War - Caitriona McCartney
8 Principled or Pragmatic? English Nonconformist Opposition to Pacifism in the Inter-War Period - Stuart Bell
9 Where Loyalties Lie: English Catholic Responses to Allied Strategic Bombing in the Second World War - Joshua Madrid
10 British Christians and the Morality of Killing in the Second World War - John Broom
11 Jewish-Christian Relations in the Second World War - Jonathan M. Lewis
12 Agents of Occupation or Reconciliation? Army Chaplains in Germany in the Summer of 1945 - Peter Howson
Index