Far from declining into a mere refuge for the few and the odd, some elements of religion in the UK have taken on a militancy unimaginable when faith appeared to be on the wane in the 1960s and 1970s. What caused this change? Brown (religious and cultural history, U. of Dundee) provides the first comprehensive study of religion in the UK in the twentieth century, deftly explaining the various Christian dissenting groups in an age mistakenly assumed to belong to the Church of England, the continuing influence of Victorianism and revival, the experience of war, the eventual turmoil in identity which followed, the inclusion of overseas-founded groups, and the growth of secularism in the cultural revolutions of the 1960s and 1970s, and the social and political agendas of a variety of faiths, including New Age movements, at the end of the century. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)