Roundup: Books of 2012, US religion, British religion, military chaplains

Christmas greetings from the Middle East

Like all aspects of ministry, we should never forget that we are doing God’s work and that the ministry we perform can have a profound effect on the lives of our soldiers, sailors and airmen and women. This realisation is sharpened in a war zone. Not only are service people putting themselves at risk, but they do so believing that they are making a difference by what they do and that they are serving their country.

A British Christmas has lost faith in rituals, but not religion

While most of us no longer believe in Christ the saviour, we still speak of ourselves as spiritual.

One nation under God?

Religion has been a feature of human society since Neanderthal times, but so has religious indifference. Our illusions of the past as a golden age of faith tend to cloud our assessment of today’s religious landscape.

Ben Myers’ best books of 2012

There were some terrific new books published in the past year, including some experimental works that altered the usual forms of scholarly writing.