Description

Religion in Britain is not dead - but it is changing fast and in unexpected ways. This is the remarkable finding of Jonathan Romain's latest book, which reveals the enormous growth in religious conversion that is becoming a widespread phenomenon throughout the country. Supposedly godless Britain is in fact teeming with people who are either converting from one faith to another or are adopting a faith for the first time in their lives. In what appears to be an astonishing religious merry-go-round, Christianity, Buddhism, Hindiusm, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism are all losing adherents and gaining new members. What is it that has led to this explosion of religious change? How can the same religion both attract and repel at the same time? How does conversion affect the lives of the individuals concerned? What are the long-term consequences for the faiths themselves? This pioneering study is based on years of research by Jonathan Romain, who both charts this startling new trend in Britain today and tells the story of the many converts and their families whose lives have been so dramatically changed. Anyone who is interested in the development of religion or in the major currents affecting British life today will find this book both exciting and challenging.