Revisionist social historians of religion had a point when they argued against seeing secularisation as a simple unilinear process of modernisation (in particular urbanisation) marginalising religion but they over-stated the case. Some elements of organised Christianity survived the first half of the twentieth century in decent health but the signs of serious decline were visible long before the currently-favoured late date of the 1960s. In these essays Green ably summarises the argument, demonstrates the decline (especially in moral Puritanism), and explains why the strenuous efforts of the Churches to reverse the trends failed. He is particularly interesting on Walter ‘the Gloomy Dean’ Inge in the 1920s, on the myth of a religious revival in the 1950s, on the growth of the Labour party, and on the significance for the Church of England of the 1944 Education Act. What makes Green a particular pleasure to read are his skill with language – always clear, sometimes clever – and his ability to make a telling point with a neat aside that uses just the tip of a very large iceberg of knowledge. The reader learns a great deal without being implicitly chided for not already knowing it. In his focus, source selection and style, Green may seem a little old-fashioned but, given that his remit is England, the concentration on the Church of England is perfectly proper. Treating Anglican officials as if they were men of importance and reporting politicians doing likewise feels a little passé but that is itself confirmation of the book's main point. Each essay is a stand-alone storehouse but together they restore balance to a field that had become distorted by the battle between sociologists and social historians.