The Church of England in the Twentieth Century: The Church Commissioners and the Politics of Reform, 1948-1998

This is the first comprehensive picture of the life and work of the Church of England in the second half of the twentieth century, tracing the evolution of the Church at a time of immense upheaval. The Church was inevitably facedwith the need for [sometimes painful] reform as society became more secularised and multi-cultural, and its response is examined. The book also gives a detailed portrait of the work of its archbishops and bishops; and tackles thecontroversial questions raised by financial matters and the administration of property. They include the financial speculations of the late 1980s and early 1990s, which provoked fundamental questions about the role of the Church and the nature of its relationship with the state.

ANDREW CHANDLER is Director of the George Bell Institute, Birmingham, and Honorary Lecturer at the University of Birmingham.