Though its scope ranges over 400 years, this book treats a thorny challenge in contemporary Roman Catholicism: the tension between two distinctive, incompatible liturgical and ecclesiological viewpoints that underlie, on the one hand, the recently revived pre-Vatican II Order of the Baptism of Adults (OBA) and, on the other, the reformed ritual of the post-Vatican II era known as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). Peter McGrail, a specialist in liturgical studies and a member of the Liturgy Committee of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, notes that it is possible today for Catholics to choose one or the other of these two “radically different forms,” the first—the OBA—dating to 1614 and the other—the RCIA—dating to 1972 (3). In 1962, Vatican officials approved a slightly revised version of the seventeenth-century OBA. But with the emergence of the RCIA, that earlier rite would be formally superseded and replaced. As McGrail notes, things changed again with Pope Benedict XVI's 2007 motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum—a document that encouraged the use of pre-Vatican II liturgical rites, primarily in an effort to pacify traditionalist Catholics opposed to the liturgical and ecclesiological reforms associated with Vatican II. In effect, the papal pronouncement created a situation in which two rites would be pitted against one another and, in doing so, enabled Catholics to give voice to what McGrail sees as two inconsistent and irreconcilable—yet both officially approved—visions of the Christian life.

McGrail offers a useful, if somewhat general, history of Catholic adult baptism from the seventeenth century forward, focusing both on an analysis of the liturgical texts and on the practice and administration of the associated rituals in various locations. In the earlier Latin-language rite, he notes a profound emphasis on the celebrant's role as exorcist who represents God in accusing and cursing Satan, an emphasis grounded in a cosmic vision of God and Satan locked in a continual struggle within which is determined the fate of each individual soul. In the later rite which is available in multiple vernacular languages, he notes a very different emphasis: the initiates are understood not as imperiled by Satan, but as new members of the “People of God” mystically sharing the ongoing life of Christ in the world. Along the way, he traces out the historical and theological contexts that nourished—indeed, continue to nourish—each of these respective rites.

In exploring the roots of the RCIA, McGrail highlights the crucial role played by mid-twentieth-century clerics, particularly priests in western European cities and European missionaries stationed in African nations. Clergy ministering to the European working class and those striving to convert African non-Christians faced a shared challenge: how could they make Christianity compelling to adults and cultivate a sense of enduring personal commitment to the Christian life? The answer, many concluded, was a prolonged process of formal instruction that emphasized an engagement with scripture rather than an affirmation of dogma and allowed for a gradual, multi-staged ritual integration into the faith community culminating in the celebration of baptism. In recommending this prolonged process, reformers sought to recover early Christian traditions of formation and initiation (though McGrail shows that the RCIA was ultimately as much modern as it was grounded in ancient practice). To this end, Vatican officials in the 1950s approved experimental efforts that would become the foundation of the initial reform of the OBA in 1962 and, eventually, the RCIA in 1972. In other words, needs articulated by pastoral leaders in local communities became the impetus for liturgical reform at a global level.

Those interested in the history of tensions and divisions in the Roman Catholic church since the 1960s will find this book particularly helpful both for its reach into earlier decades and centuries and its grasp of theological nuances that might be elusive to non-theologians. Though it looks carefully at religious belief and practice, this is not a work one would classify as a study of “lived religion.” It is, however, one that takes seriously ritual and practice, surfacing imbedded assumptions and broad social and cultural implications contained within both. In this respect, McGrail's book can be a guide to which historians who wish to interrogate ritual texts as source materials may turn to develop their own interpretive skills.