The issues raised here could not be more important to the future of British democracy. Frank Proch- aska records the pivotal role of Christian societies in the growth of British democracy. Somewhat more contentiously he sees the attack on these bodies which coincided with the growth in state welfare as a cause of the decline in Christian affiliation. Prochaska then turns to a central concern of writers like Alex de Tocqueville on whether political freedom can long survive the rapid decline of religious associations. The subliminal message is that state welfare is not only responsible for a dependency culture but is undermining democracy itself. Wow.

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