A careful believer

Is David Cameron religious? In the course of his interview with the Evening Standard he provides a clear glimpse of his attitude to religion. He sees it as something that should be advocated with the utmost care, if votes are not to be squandered.

He is asked if faith in God is important to him. "If you are asking, do I drop to my knees and pray for guidance, no. But do I have faith and is it important, yes. My own faith is there, it's not always the rock that perhaps...

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Staging hell

I’ve just seen this fascinating Times article on a reinvention of the medieval morality play by American evangelicals.

In the run-up to Halloween, some churches put on ‘hell house’ plays for teenagers, acted by slightly older teenagers. They are not scary fun, but dramatic sermons about the consequences of sinful lifestyles, intended to terrify.

I have mixed feelings about this. I object to the moralism of the message, and to the attempt to scare kids into piety, but I like the medium. It is nice to know that theatre retains its superior power...

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A stylistic difference

The key difference between the C of E and Roman Catholicism, it struck me on Thursday, is that the former is deeply marked by liberal guilt. Or, to put it less pejoratively, it is marked by liberal qualms about various aspects of organised religion. Not all of the C of E can be characterised thus, but a major part of it. It is central to Anglican identity. Of course it is closely related to post-imperial liberal guilt. The established church almost has to share in this.
 
This struck me after listening to Thought for the Day, delivered...

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Violence and religion

I enjoyed the show of Spanish religious art at the National Gallery. The painted wooden sculptures, mostly of Christ dying or dead, are not really art objects, nor even sacred art objects. They are blood-caked liturgical props. Many of them are still used in Holy Week street parades: held aloft on swaying flickering floats they seem to come to life, like magic wax-works. By the way there’s a good little film adjoining the show that gives you a taste of these thrilling events, packed with pointy-hooded penitents straight out of Goya. If this...

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Rome's selling point

This month, with the tour of St Therese’s relics, the announcement of next year’s papal visit, and now the announcement that new structures will be set up for traditionalist Anglo-Catholics wanting to defect, the established Church has begun to look like a bystander next to Rome.

What explains Rome’s dynamic aura, and the C of E’s lack of it? In a word, or two words, sacramental exoticism. Look at the buzz of media interest that St Therese’s relics have generated. The thought of a huge papal carnival next year will tip many Anglo-Catholics Romewards....

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A healthy irreverence

MacCulloch’s big book A History of Christianity gets better and better. Once we get to the Reformation there’s a pacy feel to the narrative, and it increases as we move through modernity. He has the right sort of irreverence towards various theological and ecclesiastical disputes; sometimes there’s a restrained hint of Gibbon.

Of course the theme of sacramentalism, which really means the cultural expression of Christianity, will be central to any such book, but MacCulloch has a consistently sure touch here. He is enlightening on various aspects of the overlap of religion and...

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