This important book describes as accurately as possible the religious situation of Great Britain at the end of the twentieth century, and evaluates this evidence within a sociological framework.
Grace Davie is a sociologist of religion and a prolific researcher and writer at the University of Exeter. She it was who coined the phrase “believing without belonging” as a way of describing the status of religion, the state of personal religiosity, and the condition of the institutional church in Great Britain. As the title suggests, this book focuses on the extraordinary changes that have taken place in that nation since the World War II. While there are significant differences between G.B. and the U.S., her analysis of religion from a sociological perspective is relevant for those who study the religion, religiosity and the health of Christian institutions in this country.