Subversive Peacemakers: War-Resistance 1914-1918: An Anglican Perspective - Softcover

Clive Barrett

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0718893670 ISBN 13: 9780718893675

Publisher: James Clarke and Co Ltd, 2014

Synopsis

The outbreak of the First World War saw an upsurge of patriotism. The Church generally saw the war as justified, and many clergy encouraged the men in their congregations to join the army. There was, however, already a strong strand of anti-war sentiment, opposed to the dominant theology of the Establishment. This was partly based on traditional Christian pacifism, but included other religious, social and political influences. Campaigners and conscientious objectors voiced a growing concern about the huge human cost of a conflict seemingly endlessly bogged down in the mud of the Flanders poppy fields. "Subversive Peacemakers" recounts the stories of a strong and increasingly organised opposition to war, from peace groups to poets, from preachers to politicians, from women to working men, all of whom struggled to secure peace in a militarised and fragmenting society. Clive Barrett demonstrates that the Church of England provided an unlikely setting for much of this war resistance. Barrett masterfully narrates the story of the peace movement, bringing together stories of war resistance until now lost, disregarded or undervalued. The people involved, as well as the dramatic events of the conflict themselves, are seen in a new light. Dr Clive Barrett is an Anglican priest, working with West Yorkshire Ecumenical Council to build relationships between churches of different traditions. He has edited volumes on ecumenism ("Unity in Process", 2012) and international peace heritage ("Museums for Peace: Transforming Cultures", 2012). A past Chair of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship, he is Chair of the Peace Museum, Bradford, and a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Leeds. "Although the story of those courageous individuals who resisted the call to war in 1914 has been told before, this timely and original volume, based on extensive research and using original sources, sheds important new light on the subject. Focusing on the established church, the author convincingly shows that it overwhelmingly followed the government rather than the gospel. For those relatively few who remained faithful to their belief in nonviolence, it was a lonely stance, incurring hostility and ostracism." Dr Peter van den Dungen, Visiting Fellow, School of Peace Studies, University of Bradford.

About this title

Review:

It is a masterful and passionately told story of war resistance previously disregarded or undervalued in the unlikely setting of the Church of England. Cyril Pierce, Reviews in History, Review no. 1779, June 2015 ...deeply compelling... Peter M. Waddell, Reviews in Religion & Theology, 22:4, 2015 Clive masterfully narrates the story of the peace movement, bringing together stories of war-resistance until now lost, disregarded or undervalued. --The Anglican Peacemaker, vol 14, issue 2, (October 2014) This is a thoroughly researched and carefully documented work to be recommended to any serious reader wanting to examine the history and significance of those who took a costly pacifist stand. -- Rev. Marie Dove, Methodist Recorder, 1st May 2015 I loved this book and learned such a lot from it, not least more details and new light on the history of [the Fellowship of Reconciliation]...anybody interested in the history of the peace movement will be delighted with this new Anglican perspective of war resistance during the First World War. The style of writing and the way Dr Barrett has organised the book makes it very easy to read and here is an author unafraid to speak truth as much as were the people he writes about. --Geraldine Bridges, Peacelinks, March-May 2015 Clive Barrett is ideally placed to document Anglican resistance to the First World War...A thoroughly-researched and often entertaining account of those subversive peacemakers. --Virginia Moffatt, Peace News, April-May 2015

This book recounts the stories of a strong and increasingly organised opposition to war, from peace groups to poets, from preachers to politicians, from women to working men, all of whom struggled to secure peace in a militarised and fragmenting society...Clive Barrett demonstrates that the Church of England provided an unlikely setting for much of this war resistance. --International Network of Museums for Peace Newsletter, No. 9, (November 2014)

This is a remarkable book on an unancipated subject [...]. One must admire the width of his research. The book has excellent end notes, bibliography and index. It should be a long standing reference. Ian Simpson, Headingley Perish Magazine, March 2015 [...]It is a vitally usefull addition to the literature on the subject. I have already drawn on it several times in my own teachings. " Clive Barret in this well-documentated study Subversive Peacemakers reveals new material, especially bout the small number of anglican COs in the First World War" Canon Alan Wilkinson, Church Times, 13th March 2015 --Symon Hill, Third Way, vol.39, no.2, March 2015

About the Author:

Dr Clive Barrett is an Anglican priest, working with West Yorkshire Ecumenical Council to build relationships between churches of different traditions. He has edited volumes on ecumenism ('Unity in Process', 2012) and international peace heritage ('Museums for Peace: Transforming Cultures', 2012). A past Chair of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship, he is Chair of the Peace Museum, Bradford, and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Leeds.

About this edition

• Publisher: James Clarke and Co Ltd
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0718893670
• ISBN 13: 9780718893675
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 314