Priests, Prelates and Politics offers the general reader an account of how the Church of England responded to the most important social and political issues of the twentieth century. After an introductory chapter outlining the Christian foundations of social and political action, the author rebuffs robustly the frequently made assertion that the church should not intervene in these issues but concentrate exclusively on the salvation of individual souls. Following the pattern of his previous books, he then offers brief lives of the churchs chief spokesmen on particular subjects, together with the contributions of others, vivid accounts of the public controversies these usually created and assessments of their influence on attitudes and events. The book concludes with reflections on the likelihood of the church gaining as much attention during the present century and how its influence may best be exerted in a still turbulent and increasingly secularised nation. -- Publisher.