In a time when researchers feel pressure always to produce something new and some students erroneously believe that anything published in the social sciences more than five years ago is not worth their time and attention, a book like the one recently written by Peter Coleman and his colleagues is far too rare. This work compellingly demonstrates the value of stepping back and reviewing a body of knowledge gathered through a career in academic research and teaching. Coleman has been conducting interviews with older people about their religious lives and beliefs for over 40 years. Some of this research has been longitudinal and has enabled Coleman to observe individual growth and change against the backdrop of cultural shifts in religious affiliation and attitudes about religious beliefs.

Reviews of research in the area generally called ‘religion, spirituality, and ageing’ almost always begin with a discussion about definitions, measures, and methods. Because of his historical perspective, Coleman is able to show how definitions – especially of the term ‘spiritual’ – have evolved at a time of considerable religious change and ferment. Although much has been written about religious decline in Western culture, Coleman concludes that we should not be quick to draw simplistic conclusions, for the number of adherents in some faith traditions (especially evangelical Christianity and Islam) has grown, some religious groups have rebounded (compelling examples from Russia, Bulgaria, and Romania are offered), and people who have drifted away from or actively rejected traditional religious belief systems now describe themselves as spiritual. While Coleman's research shows that people born before World War II generally do not embrace the category of ‘spiritual but not religious’, it also demonstrates that they have not been immune to the cultural shifts both in the decline of religious affiliation and religious literacy, and increased awareness of multicultural perspectives on religion.

Coleman prefers to speak of beliefs rather than tangling with the complexity of spirituality or religion. Beliefs provide people with a sense of purpose and guide their choices about goals to pursue; beliefs orient people to what is most meaningful in their lives and when put into action, they help people cope with core existential challenges like bereavement. Coleman's studies of bereavement demonstrate the significance of his commitment to studying beliefs in the context of lives unfolding within a particular culture at a particular historical moment. This contextual approach is supported by Coleman's method, which consists largely of in-person interviews. Observations of persons over time enable Coleman to document various trajectories of belief, as some older persons have rejected the beliefs held when they were young (predominantly Christian) while others have grown more committed to their beliefs. In addition, interviews by Coleman and his colleagues of elder atheists affiliated with the British Humanist Association reveal how their embrace of an ethical life philosophy grounded in rationalism provides an explanatory structure for coping with the challenges of old age, a moral compass guiding decision-making, consolation in times of loss, and inspiration – especially from science.

Researchers studying ‘religion, spirituality, and ageing’ in the United States of America – particularly those employing psychometrically sophisticated quantitative measures – should read Coleman's work with care, for he notes that some of the conclusions drawn from their work cannot be generalised to the United Kingdom and Western Europe. Moreover, his qualitative approach employing interviews and analysis of narrative writings provides a nuanced perspective on older people's beliefs (which many find difficult to discuss when first asked about them) that cannot be captured in standard, objective measures of religious belief administered anonymously at only one point in time. Listening to elders' tales of what matters most in their lives, and in many cases forming important relationships with them, reminds Coleman and his colleagues of the humanity of research participants.

Although Coleman notes that most of his research has focused on elders in England with varying strengths of commitment to Christian beliefs, this book also summarises studies he and his colleagues conducted among British Muslims, and persons living in rural areas of Italy, Russia, Bulgaria, and Romania. He urges researchers to ask ‘what can be learned from better acquaintance with the experience of ageing within different religious cultures’ (p. 113) and regrets the worldwide decline in religious literacy observed not only among the general public, but also in academia. Coleman's research over more than four decades contains multiple valuable insights applicable to the academic study of the psychology and sociology of religion, spirituality, and ageing. In addition, this work contains valuable insights applicable to pastoral care with elders, including those living with dementia. This book deserves a wide readership among academics, pastors, and the general public interested in how the dramatic changes in the religious landscape over the past 40 years have affected the lives and beliefs of older people.