Clifford Longley Website/home page

ARTICLES ETC BY JOURNALIST CLIFFORD LONGLEY
on politics, morality, society, religion, etc; and other material, British and international. Includes BBC Radio 4 Thought for the Day
Updated regularly. Website last revised SEPTEMBER 17 2002.
For copyright reasons some of the headlines differ from the original.

Just published:
CHOSEN PEOPLE - the Big Idea that shapes
England and America
by Clifford Longley

Published by Hodder Headline in the UK, August 22 2002

From the cover: In both Britain and the United States, predominant values are now secular and cross-culturally aware. Yet both countries inherit a God-given sense of unique mission. This lies at the root of their national character - the myth and reality of Anglo-American identity. In England, Church and State were two sides of the same coin. The early Americans believed they were, like the Jews in the Old Testament, God's Chosen People. America has not yet freed itself from all that that implies, which partly explains why it is both loved and hated in the rest of the world. The British have begun to see that they need a more realistic basis on which to define themselves. But they are rapidly forgetting the history that made them what they are. The two national stories, side by side, have a lot to say to each other.

The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington have given a new urgency to some of the hottest topics of the 21st century. What makes America so strong and yet so vulnerable? Why do the British and Americans so often stand shoulder to shoulder? What are the real roots of their common history? And what about the future, for England and the USA, particularly in a world threatened by a terrorism which claims religion as its heart? This topical and deeply revealing book about national identity and its religious roots, is even more relevant with recent developments in world affairs.

EMAIL US

EXTRACTS FROM RECENT ARTICLES AND BROADCASTS

NEW YORK IN PAIN
'THE SCENE: Union Square, Manhattan. The time: some days after September 11. A digital cameraman is wandering abroad collecting vox pops, and he notices a hubbub in one corner of the square where a crowd is gathering. As he arrives, a woman (white, apparently a typical New Yorker) has just finished writing in chalk on the paving stones: THE AMERICAN FLAG PROPAGATES VIOLENCE...

The Tablet September 14 2002
...

UNIQUE AMONG THE NATIONS
'THE BRITISH ARE a pragmatic lot, and we like it that way. It is what holds intolerance at bay, and may explain the failure of both Communism and Fascism to gain more than a marginal foothold in Britain. Superficially, the Americans may seem to resemble us in this. But such appearances are deceptive...'
The Tablet August 31 2002
...

FROM RACE TO HUMAN RIGHTS
'THE DISGRACING AND DISMISSAL of Gurbux Singh from the chairmanship of the Commission for Racial Equality has provoked predictable calls from the right for the commission to be wound up. More surprising has been the uncertain tone with which left and liberal friends of the commission have come to its assistance...'
The Tablet August 17 2002
...

PEEPING TOM AND BIG BROTHER
'AN EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT of media fuss has broken out over a television programme called, after the menacing central character in Orwell's prophetic science-fiction masterpiece 1984, Big Brother...'
The Tablet August 3 2002
...

TIME TO LET GO OF POWER
'THE IMMINENT ARRIVAL of a new Archbishop of Canterbury is a good moment to ask how the Church of England might fare better under fresh leadership. The change of incumbent at Lambeth Palace is a rare opportunity for a change of direction, if the new man seizes the chance. But it will take some courage...'
The Tablet July 20 2002
...

THE POLICE CAN'T MAKE US MORAL
'MAY I ASK a subversive question? Can politicians and the police turn dishonest people into honest people? The obvious answer is No, of course not. The roots of such behaviour go a long way back into a person's background, and a great deal depends on parental input. And there's free will...'
BBC Thought for the Day July 15 2002
...

Chronological index of
FROM THE TABLET, BBC RADIO AND ELSEWHERE
NB: dates are day, month, year.
Lower case = Tablet; upper case = Other publications; latest articles first

September 11: New York in pain (14/9/2002)
American Exceptionalism : Unique among the nations (31/8/2002)
Community relations: From race to human rights (17/8/2002)
TV voyeurism: Peeping Tom and Big Brother (3/8/2002)
New archbishop: Time to let go of power (20/7/2002)
Penal reform: Police can't make us moral (15/7/2002)
Establishment: Selecting bishops (8/7/2002)
Prison crisis: More power for the Bench (6/7/2002)
Duke of Norfolk RIP: A grand old Duke (1/7/2002)
Post-Jubilee: Rise of the New Toryism (22/6/2002)
Queen's Jubilee: Hands off the royal magic (8/6/2002)
Single-issue politics: Working on the wild side (25/5/2002)
Disestablishment: Chuck it, Carey! (11/5/2002)
America and Israel: Palestine as the Wild West (27/4/2002)
Queen Mother's funeral: The magic of monarchy (13/4/2002)
Papal teaching: Tories and the poor (30/3/2002)
THOUHT FOR THE DAY: Two and a half top Catholics (25/3/2002)
THOUHT FOR THE DAY: Dr Livingstone I presume (18/3/2002)
After Dr Carey: A prophet for Canterbury (16/3/2002)
THOUHT FOR THE DAY: Killing civilians is wrong (11/3/2002)
Lobby journalism: This week's Whitehall farce (2/3/2002)
Statistical booster: Does size really matter? (16/2/2002)
THOUHT FOR THE DAY : DEATH THE GREAT LEVELLER (11/2/2002)
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: RIGHT TO THE TRUTH (4/2/2002)
Cohabitation and the law: No point in poking a finger (2/2/2002)
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: DRINK TO CONSCIENCE FIRST (28/1/2002)
Archbishop of Canterbury : None of Blair's business (19/1/2002)
War on Terrorism: When support wavers (5/1/2002)
Not far enough: Cormac at Sandringham (15/12/2001)
September 11: "Why do they hate us?" (1/12/2001)
Honeymoon resumed: The rebirth of Tony Blair (17/11/2001)
Cardiff paedophile case: Liars, damned liars and spokesmen? (3/11/2001)
Slavery reparations: America Undivided? (20/10/2001)
Proportionality: Just war and terrorism (29/9/2001)
Terrorist attack: The Mahattan Massacre (15/9/2001)
Church schools: Hello again Christianity (1/9/20001)>
Holy nationalism: The misuse of Jerusalem (18/8/2001)
Catholics in politics: A sniff of Smithfield (4/8/2001)
Truth and media: Who'd trust a journalist? (21/7/2001)
Kasper v Ratzinger: Big beasts in the Vatican jungle (7/7/2001)
Outside wedlock: Marriage and human nature (23/6/2001)
Election non-issue: In a muddle on abortion (9/6/2001)
Labour v capital: Private scowls and public smiles (26/5/2001)
Election and mass media: Television the deceiver (12/5/2001)
Liberal No-Popery: Bigotry in The Guardian (28/4/2001)
Royal family: Dangerous liaisons (14/4/2001)
Anti-Semitism alleged: Israel and the British media (31/3/2001)
Act of Settlement: Crowning the English identity (17/3/2001)
Lenten penances: Me and my adjectives (3/3/2001)
Jewish-Christian relations: Israel, church and covenant (17/2/2001)
Compassioniate Toryism? The pitfalls of following Bush (3/2/2001)
Papal contradictions: The puzzle of two Popes (20/1/2001)
Queen's Christmas broadcast: Throne, Altar and the tv (6/1/2001)
Moral relativism: THE POLICE, SOCIAL CONTROL AND THE ALMIGHTY (27/12/2000)
Crime and punishment: Who'd be a liberal? (23/12/2000)
Parental authority: Lords of the Flies (9/12/2000)
Millennium: Someone loves the Dome (25/11/2000)
State of the nation : Walking with atheists (11/11/2000)
Runnymede Report: A true British race row (28/10/2000)
Parish-hopping: When the laity are revolting (7/10/2000)
Divine fingerprints: The universal holy man (23/9/2000)
Police prejudice: More incompetence than racism (9/9/2000)
We'll meet again? GOODBYE TO ALL THAT, DEAR READER (8/9/2000)
Siamese twins: WHEN LABOUR WARDS BECOME MORAL MINEFIELDS (1/9/2000)
Clerical child abuse: Too much sin, not enough justice (26/8/2000)
Civil society: THE FATAL EMBRACE OF THE STATE (25/8/2000)
Medical research: JUSTICE VERSUS UTILITY FOR THE EMBRYO (18/8/2000)
Folk devils: Paedophiles and moral panic (12/8/2000)
Carey on therapy: THE ABOLITION OF ORIGINAL SIN (11/8/2000)
Sex law reform: BRITAIN'S SEXUAL SPLIT PERSONALITY (4/8/2000)
Prelatial titles: Bonfire of the clerical vanities (29/7/2000)
Holocaust conference: FOR POKING HITLER IN THE EYE WITH (28/7/2000)
Sexual abuse by priests: WEEDING OUT THE PAEDOPHILES (21/7/2000)
Catholics and Aids: When condoms are strictly necessary (16/7/2000)
Human Rights Act: Strasbourg in the High Street (15/7/2000)
Canterbury choices: WHEN THE ZIGZAG HAS TO STOP (14/7/2000)
Death of Robert Runcie: THE BEST AND THE WORST (8/7/2000)
Blair's philosophy: POLITICS AND VIRTUE AFTER ARISTOTLE (7/7/2000)
Aids and condoms: Ashamed of my Church (1/7/2000)
Reform campaigns: HOW HARD CASES MADE BAD LAW (30/6/2000)
Religion and politics: WHEN LABELS DON'T TRAVEL WELL (23/6/2000)
Section 28: MORAL MAZE OF THE PC WORLD (16/6/2000)
New Labour setback: Why Tony is a disappointment (17/6/2000)
Oxford elitism: Open to all classes (3/6/2000)
CofE PLC: SPIRITUALITY VERSUS RELIGION (2/6/2000)
Role of the primate: WAVE-PARTICLE DUALITY AT CANTERBURY (26/5/2000)
Church-state row: AN ECCLESIASTICAL WEST LOTHIAN QUESTION (19/5/2000)
Shared decision-making: Closing the laity gap (20/5/2000)
Jewish Catholic relations: A GROVE DEDICATED TO PEACE (12/5/2000)
Church schools: TEACHING RELIGION AS TRUE AT LAST (5/5/2000)
Restoration of the Hierarchy: Echoes of a distant commotion (6/5/2000)
"Papal Aggression": WHEN MIDDLE ENGLAND SEETHED (28/4/2000)
Asylum-seekers row: TORY BRIDGE TO THE CHURCHES JUST HOLDS (21/4/2000)
Capitalism and society: Calling business to account (15/4/2000)
Common essentials: THE SOUND OF MULTI-FAITH BRITAIN (14/4/2000)
Gay clergy: ANGLICAN COMMUNION ON THE BRINK (7/4/2000)
Charles and Camilla: Tying the royal knot (1/4/2000)
Legalising cannabis: DRUGS AND THE COMMON GOOD (31/3/2000)
RC and C of E: New era in church relations (24/3/2000)
New archbishop: Giving the Catholic laity its voice (25/3/2000)
British politics: When the public stops smiling (18/3/2000)
Papal repentance: PROBLEMS WITH A PAPAL APOLOGY (17/3/2000)
Tavener and MacMillan: MUSIC OF THE SPHERES STILL MOVES (10/3/2000)
Mass media secularisation: THE RELIGION OF TELEVISION (3/3/2000)
Working class history: Labour's myths and heroes (4/3/2000)
Muslim-Christian conflict: THE FUNDAMENTALISTS' FRIEND (25/2/2000)
Catholic appointments: Searching for the English (19/2/2000)
English RC appointments: ECUMENISM GETS FRIENDS AT THE TOP (18/2/2000)
English RC appointments: TWO MEN TO CONTINUE HUME'S LEGACY (15/2/2000)
Remarriage in church: DIVORCING THE SPIRIT OF THE TIMES (11/2/2000)
Stockholm Conference: Putting new heart into Europe (5/2/2000)
Stockholm Conference: SOCIAL DEMOCRATS AND THE HOLOCAUST (4/2/2000)
Welfare services: WASTING THE SOCIAL CAPITAL (28/1/2000)
Nazis and the Jews: Researching the Holocaust (22/1/2000)
Nature versus nurture: WHAT MAKES A HOMOSEXUAL? (21/1/2000)
Unreligious Britain: MOVING TO A CRITICAL DISTANCE (14/1/2000)
Millennium audit: WHEN RELIGION AND POWER DON'T MIX (31/12/99)
National pessimism: No Millennium please, we're English (23/12/99)
Global festival: A WORLD UNIFIED BY CHRISTMAS (24/12/99)
Institutional religion: A SPLIT BETWEEN 'SPIRITUAL' AND 'RELIGIOUS' (17/12/99)
Age discrimination: An NHS with no time for the elderly (11/12/99)
Millennium Prayer: IS CLIFF RICHARD BAD FOR RELIGION? (10/12/99)
Haves and have-nots: COMPASSIONATE HEART, WRONG ECONOMICS (3/12/99)
Personalities at the top: What did Worlock think of Hume?
North-South divide Did bishops get the economics wrong?
Oppressed by PC: CORRECTING THE POLITICS OF SOCIAL WORK (26/11/99)
Church leadership: Saints and sinners (27/11/99))
Membership figures: CHURCHES PLAY THE NUMBERS GAME (19/11/99)
Falklands War: Hume versus Worlock (book extract)
English RCs and the Vatican: Sorry, mission impossible (book extract)
Monarchy v Republic:: Royalty under the guillotine (13/11/99)
Crime and punishment: BALANCING THE SCALES OF PENAL POLICY (12/11/99)
Successor to Hume: VATICAN CANNOT RUN ENTIRE CHURCH (5/11/99)
Crisis in journalism: The daily truth-deficit (30/10/99)
Keston College: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AFTER THE COLD WAR (29/10/99)
Nazi persecution of the Jews: HOLOCAUST NOT SO SIMPLE TO TEACH (22/10/99)
Faith and conflict: GLOBALISATION PLUS RELIGION EQUALS PEACE (8/10/99)
Sensations in New York: Let's insult the Catholics (9/10/99)
Tony Blair's philosophy: BUT PROGRESS NEEDS CONSERVATISM (1/10/99)
Thatcher economics: In praise of mutuality (25/9/99)
Anglican Communion: DR CAREY WAVES A BENT STICK (24/9/99)
Vatican and Hitler: SO WHY NOT "PIUS XII, MISUNDERSTOOD HERO"? (17/9/99)
Common law marriage: NEW (OLD) PATHWAYS INTO MATRIMONY (10/9/99)
Government and morality: Sex, marriage and teenagers (11/9/99)
Religion and war: WARTIME ENGLAND BLESSED WITH GOOD PASTORS (3/9/99)
Evolution as religion: WHEN SCIENCE CLAIMS TOO MUCH (27/8/99)
The Vatican's denouncers: Scandal of delation (28/8/99)
"Godless morality" etc: A CLASH OF ANGLICAN OPINIONS (20/8/99)
Lost medieval past: Religion's Year Zero (14/8/99)
Anthropic Principle: MONKEYS TYPING FOR EVER (13/8/99)
Religion and reason: IN A BLIND LEAP OF FAITH (6/8/99)
Disarming the IRA: No reconciliation without truth (1/8/99)
Humanae Vitae: VATICAN DAMAGES ANTI-ABORTION CAMPAIGN (30/7/99)
Law and psychiatry: WITHOUT MORALS WE ARE ALL PSYCHOPATHS (23/7/99)
Catholic laity: Remembering the 'Phew!'(15/7/99)
Abolition of "primary purpose" rule: SCANDAL OF FORCED MARRIAGES (16/7/99)
Religion and Kosovo: MENDING THE SPIRITUAL PEACE (9/7/99)
Social capital: On not copying King Canute (3/7/99)
Killing and letting die: WHEN DOCTORS DON'T ALWAYS KNOW BEST (2/7/99)
Bishops in the House of Lords: DEFINING A PLURAL SOCIETY (25/6/99)
Demise of ruling class: No longer much obliged (19/6/99)
Remembering Cardinal Hume RIP: A DOCTOR OF THE HUMAN HEART
Nato in Kosovo: TOO IMPORTANT TO BE LEFT TO THE GENERALS
Anti-Catholic feeling: WHAT CARDINAL HUME REALLY ACHIEVED
Teenagers in crisis: TIME TO HONOUR PARENTS AND WHAT THEY DO
Counter Reformation: Goodbye to all that
Female priests: DOUBLE INJUSTICE IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND
Anglican-RC relations: SCARCELY A WHIMPER AT PAPAL INVITATION
UK devolution: Oh to be in Scotland now
Sexual morality: WHY TEENAGE GIRLS GET PREGNANT
Tory U-turn: Not quite there yet
Padre Pio: WHERE MIRACLES MAKETH THE SAINT
Post-modern culture: WHEN PSYCHOPATHS ARE NORMAL
Cardinal Hume: FRIENDLY FATHER BASIL'S UNFUSSY 'NEW FUTURE'
English identity: Honour this godly knight
Kosovo and the Serbian Orthodox: GOOD SERBS NEED SOLIDARITY
International Law: NO HIDING PLACE FOR WAR CRIMINALS
Ludovic Kennedy and Simone Weil: LOVE OF POETRY AND THE LOVE OF GOD
James Bulger case: The human rights of child killers
Kosovo conflict: PEACE NOT WAR BETWEEN ISLAM AND THE WEST
Affluence and secularism: Not enough to have "God in your life"
Single currency debate: What use national sovereignty?
Ratzinger versus Koenig: PLURALISM ALARMS VATICAN POLICEMAN
Millennium preparations: EXIT BABY AND BATHWATER BY CANDLELIGHT
US and UK racism: BLACKNESS AND THE BLOOD-TAINT
Stephen Lawrence Inquiry: Race and the British police
Anglican-Catholic relations: CONTACT WITH A TOUCH OF PAIN
Faith and politics: Switching off the CDs
Jewish divisions: IS THIS THE END FOR THE CHIEF RABBI?
Reincarnation: REBIRTH, SUFFERING AND THE ONENESS OF GOD
Supporting families: In awe of the m-word
Church and State: CATHOLICS SETTLED WITH AN ANGLICAN CROWN
Political correctness of social work: PULLING MARRIAGE OFF THE ROCKS
Media and politics: Spinning a tangled web
Disestablishment: CHURCH AND STATE THE SCOTTISH WAY
Cardinal's successor: DOES THE MASTER HAVE THE HUME TOUCH?
Millennium events: INSIDE THE DOME OR UNDER THE TABLE?
Moral revolution: Sins against rights
Christmas commercialism: A BIRTHDAY PARTY TO BE PROUD OF
Human rights: DICTATORS WHO WERE ONCE GOOD CATHOLICS
Devolving Britain: Us, them, and the nation-state
Nazis and the Jews: WHAT SHALL WE TELL THE CHILDREN?
Political correction: WHEN WHITE MALES ARE THE VILLAINS
Tories and the Church: Hague's faith in free markets
Social services: PARTNERING THE STATE IN WELFARE
World War I: CRUCIFIXION ON THE WESTERN FRONT
Christian/Jews crisis: Edith Stein and the Jews
Marriage and the family: NEW LABOUR'S NEW FAMILY GURU
Forward in Faith: WOMEN BISHOPS A BRIDGE TOO FAR?
Justice in society: EXPLORING THE TANGLE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Divorce and Communion: Nothing to say but Sorry
Philosophy and theology: THE FAITH OF A REASONABLE POPE
Tories and Europe: Groping for England
WCC in Harare: COUNCIL OF AFRICAN DESPAIR
Church and divorce: IF IT IS A WORKING FUDGE DON'T FIX IT
Clinton and Blair's Third Way: Best of both worlds
Church Of England: AN ALPHA PROSPECT OF RECOVERY
Catholic priests protest: CHAFING AT THE VATICAN'S BRIDLE
Sky buys soccer club: Man U, Murdoch and the media
Church of England: TIME TO RELINQUISH THE PAPAL POWER
Financing the voluntary sector: ROYAL HANDS TO THE CHARITY PUMPS
White House sex scandal: Public men with private morals
Legacy of Thatcherism: RETURNING TO SOCIETY AND THE COMMON GOOD
The Church and Northern Ireland: LAYING THE GHOSTS OF IRISH HISTORY
Princess Diana anniversary: Diana and the national soul
Jewish-Christian relations: CROSS PURPOSES AT AUSCHWITZ
Lambeth Conference on homosexuality: AFRICA'S GIFT TO ANGLICANISM
Dumbing down the media: Next on 4, broadloid broadcasting
Welfare and society: THE MORAL DEBATE FRANK FIELD LOST
House of Lords reform: SHOULD No. 10 APPOINT THE BISHOPS?
Lambeth Conference: BISHOPS OF THE ONE TRUE CHURCH?
New Catholic editor: Open letter to William Oddie
Labour's family policy: WHEN THE NEEDS OF A CHILD COME FIRST
Vatican and dissent: ROOM FOR ALL SORTS IN THE POSTMODERN CHURCH
National Health Service: Unhealthy Catholic memories
Homosexuality and Anglicans: IS THIS 'DOING WHAT COMES NATURALLY'?
Football hooliganism: Our national disgrace
Religious education: FALSE HOPES OF A CHRISTIAN NATION
Anglican Communion: KEEPING QUARRELS WITHIN THE FAMILY
Anglo-Irish Agreement: Dawn of a new friendship
Roman Millennium : WHEN SHEPHERDS BLAME THEIR FLOCKS
Secularisation: HOLES IN THE BOUYANCY TANKS
Irish referendum: Ireland's uncommon goods
New think-tank: CATHOLICISM AND THE COMMON GOOD
A managing church: THE BOARD OF 'C of E plc' CANNOT SAVE THE DAY
Child killer: A deadly game of consequences
Intuition and faith: WHY THE GOOD SAMARITAN IS MISUNDERSTOOD
Relaxing the RC rules: TURNING A BLIND EYE TO COMMUNION
Art and morality: Learning to live with Eric Gill
Faith in the City: FUND WHICH UNITES A DIVIDED NATION
Good Friday: EASY FOR CHILDREN, HARD FOR ADULTS
Millennium exhibition: The hollow Dome
Gay Christians and human rights: PUTTING THE CHURCH TO RIGHTS
Politics and religious education: NEW WORDS, SAME MORALITY
Ecumenical satire: Deliver us from Catholics ...
Jewish-Christian relations: WHY THE POPE'S SORROW IS NOT ENOUGH
Conservatives: CHURCH SEES TORIES AS BEYOND REDEMPTION
Town and country: Rural revolt
Templeton Prize: THE MAN IN THE THREE FAITHS DRIVING SEAT
Cardinal Hume: IT'S TIME TO SING FROM THE SAME HYMNSHEET
Minorities: MASONIC CONSPIRACY TO CULTIVATE VIRTUE
Politics of race: In memory of Enoch Powell
Prayer: TRESPASSING IN THE MODERN MANNER
Family policy: Navigating the marriage minefield
Morality: OPPOSING ABSOLUTES ON ABORTION
Family policy: UNSURE MARRIAGE LINES OF NEW LABOUR
Mass media: Banality by the tv boxful
Catholicism v Marxism: POPE AND CASTRO: IS THERE A CONSPIRACY?
Millennium: NO BIG IDEA, NO AGREED HISTORY
Jubilee year: WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES 2000
Lay Catholics: Faith made to measure
House of Lords: WHOSE CHURCH IS IT ANYWAY?
Intercommunion: STORM IN AN IRISH CHALICE
Princess Diana: WHEN FEELINGS RULE THE WAVES
Interfaith: MULTICULTURAL MUSLIMS ENJOYING CHRISTMAS
Myra Hindley: WHEN EVIL THROWS ITS SHADOW
Darwinism: Itching for an explanation
Nonconformity: CHURCH OF ENGLAND WINNING IN THE END
Homosexuality: A clash of sexual principles
Modern style: A charmed life
Female priests: WHEN THE WOMEN CAME MARCHING IN