Britain’s ‘theocracy’ is something to be proud of
This coronation season, punditry is bristling with acute reflections on the British constitution, especially its religious aspect. Or maybe not.…
Belief in God doesn’t come from a fear of death
When I was a teenager someone asked me if I was scared of dying. No, I said, but I’m a…
Does the Church of England need evangelicals?
The Church of England is in for an explosive summer. In February, Synod decided to allow the blessing of gay…
Kate Forbes and the conundrum of marriage
The fuss over Kate Forbes’ opposition to gay marriage shows that the concept of marriage has become a serious muddle.…
In praise of meat-free Fridays for Lent
The bishop of Norwich, the Right Reverend Graham Usher, has suggested that Anglicans might like to abstain from eating meat…
Sandi Toksvig should stop picking on the Church of England
The breaking news is that Sandi Toksvig has demanded a meeting with God, over a friendly cup of tea. The…
The problem with a gender-neutral God
The Church of England will soon launch a commission on the question of gendered language in relation to God. Is…
The C of E is right to prevaricate on gay marriage
The Church and the vexed question of gay marriage
Did the Church of England let Prince Harry down?
Prince Harry is not a Christian believer, he tells us in his book Spare. Fair enough. Every British person is…
The truth about Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King and the demise of liberal Protestantism
Was Pope Benedict XVI right about Catholic tolerance?
It is not for me, a non-Catholic, to say whether the late Pope, Benedict XVI, served his Church well. But…
Meghan Markle and the uncomfortable truth about Britain
I’m not defending Harry and Meghan. But I think they deserve some credit, for they have put the British character…
What Rowan Williams gets wrong about democracy
Rowan Williams used his Reith lecture on religious liberty to make a plea to religious believers: don’t be afraid of…
It’s nonsense to say we are no longer a ‘Christian country’
According to the census, British Christianity is having a disastrous century. In the 2001 census, a clear majority of people in…
Sam Bankman-Fried and the twilight of the ‘Effective Altruists’
Crypto whizzkid Sam Bankman-Fried has come a cropper. His $16 billion (£13 billion) fortune vanished overnight last week after FTX, the crypto exchange he…
Don’t condemn the Church of England for its stance on gay marriage
The Bishop of Oxford, Steven Croft, has come out in favour of gay marriage – the first senior bishop to…
A.N. Wilson and the ‘aesthetic’ relationship to religion
My first Spectator article, 21 years ago, was a rebuke to the religious attitude of certain public intellectuals whom I…
The esoteric creed of King Charles
Our new king is not, by normal standards, an important intellectual. But it would be churlish to dismiss his thinking…
The Archbishop of Canterbury has risen to the occasion
Archbishop Justin Welby has done a good job of relating the Queen’s virtues to her Christian faith. This is no…
What Philip Larkin can teach us about depression
A couple of years ago I taught The Whitsun Weddings by Philip Larkin to some A-level students. In the last class they summed…
Where does Justin Welby stand on same-sex marriage?
Justin Welby has made a valiant attempt to placate both sides of the Anglican divide. He has insisted that the…
My Sally Rooney conversion
I tried to dislike the writing of Sally Rooney. But I failed. I retain some resistance to Sally Rooney the…
Is Channel 4's sex obsession really a 'public service'?
Is Channel 4 a public service broadcaster that should be saved from privatisation? Today’s Queen’s Speech, which lays the groundwork…
Dostovesky and Putin’s useful idiots
When I was 17 I heard the name Dostovesky, and was enthralled. Just the name felt so glamorously intellectual, so…
The trouble with Putin's Christian Orthodoxy
If you are worried about the uncertain fate of democracy in today’s world, what should you do? Become a human…
