The Eclipse of Christianity - by Rupert Shortt

Book Synopsis

A call for Christianity to recover its confidence

The mainstream Churches are faltering - or even at risk of dying out - in their Western and Middle Eastern heartlands. Surveys confirm that only a minority of people in a country such as Britain now claim Christian allegiance. The pattern is being matched in neighbouring societies. At the same time many opinion formers preach secularist ideology with a self-confidence shading into dogmatism. Others, unsure of their moorings, feel some residual attachment to spirituality, while being sceptical about the existence of God and other articles of belief.

Yet church teaching remains intellectually robust, as well as inspiring a transformative global presence. In this major and wide-ranging international study - both a report on the unsettling consequences of secularisation and a defence of a creed too often belittled by its opponents - Rupert Shortt outlines Christianity's fading profile in the present, but also argues compellingly that Europe's historic faith remains critical to the survival of a humane culture.

About the Author

Rupert Shortt is a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge. He was an editor on The Times Literary Supplement from 2000 until 2020, and has written for The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and the London Evening Standard among other publications. His books include Outgrowing Dawkins: God for Grown-Ups (2019), Does Religion Do More Harm Than Good? (2019), God Is No Thing: Coherent Christianity (2016), Rowan's Rule: The Biography of the Archbishop (2014), Christianophobia: A Faith Under Attack (2012), and Benedict XVI: Commander of the Faith (2005).