William Temple: Church, State and Society in Britain, 1880–1950

British Lives

by John Kent

William Temple (1881–1944) was the outstanding British religious leader of the twentieth century. He believed that the 'modern state' was incomplete without a modern Christian church, which should set the moral and political tone of the community. His political and religious best seller, Christianity and Social Order, which was published as a Penguin Special in 1942, was one of the sources of the wide support for the British welfare state of the 1950s. Temple was the most successful and controversial of British 'priests in politics' because as an Archbishop he combined the idea of national unity rooted in a common set of religious/moral values with a constant demand for political change in the direction of greater social equality. He thus combined conservative and radical impulses to a remarkable degree. This is a study of Temple's public life and policy in Britain, and of his part in the movement to unite the world's Protestant churches.

Genres: Christianity, Biography

212 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[John Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful introduction to William Temple's life and work as I knew little about him. His father Frederick had also been Archbishop of Canterbury.

William Temple was fairly pivotal to the ecumenical movement and did much to foster relations between the Anglican Church and Rome.I imagine that he and Basil Hume might have hit it off rather well.

Politically to the left, his short spell as Archbishop of Canterbury provided something of a contrast, to say the least, with his predecessor Cosmo Gordon Lang and his successor Geoffrey Fisher. Sadly, he died much too young and before the birth of the welfare state which I feel sure he would have welcomed and supported.