Paul Phillips steps into recent but surprisingly unfamiliar territory with this engaging study of four mid-twentieth century British public intellectuals—Bertrand Russell, Julian Huxley, Malcolm Muggeridge and Barbara Ward. All four were well-known figures in the middle decades of the century, but all four arguably have been neglected recently as public perceptions of morality have changed. Phillips sets them in the context of the broader cultural decline of Christianity in modern Britain, noting that the timing and extent of secularization is now much contested. Russell and Huxley were non-believers, yet retained implicit structures of moral reasoning that owed much to Christianity. Ward and Muggeridge, despite many points of similarity as Christian apologists, disagreed profoundly on the social implications of faith. It is striking that Russell and Huxley both endorsed eugenics to some degree, whereas the apparently more conservative Muggeridge saw its inhumane implications.

This is an insightful and fascinating study that should be read alongside other studies of British intellectual life. There are some slips: Life and Liberty, for example, was not an “Anglo-Catholic movement” (35), nor did William Temple die in 1942, but in 1944 (38). The running comparison between Muggeridge and John Henry Newman seems a little forced. But significant themes are opened up here for modern church historians to ponder.