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The appearance of J. R. Oldfield's study, Popular politics and British anti-slavery, first published by Manchester University Press in 1995, now in paperback and therefore available for a student market, is much to be welcomed. The book is already well established in its field. As James Walvin writes in his preface, 'Oldfield's research serves to clinch a simple but critical issue, namely that in the attack on the slave trade, popular revulsion was crucial' (p. vi). Building on the work of earlier scholars, notably Seymour Drescher, Hugh Honour and Clare Midgley, Oldfield has demonstrated the ways in which the abolition movement turned to mobilizing public opinion after 1787 against the slave trade. At the centre of his investigation are the petition campaigns of 1788 and 1792. In analysing anti-slavery sentiment he successfully brings together approaches which focus on the eighteenth century as a period of expansion in commercial society and popular forms of politics with the agenda of historians of the slave trade and slavery. The abolition movement, he argues, provided the prototype for modern reforming organizations. It was peopled by practical middle-class men who understood the importance of the expansion of the market and consumer choice. It succeeded in capturing the imagination of those, predominantly middle-class men and women, who were increasingly interested in engaging in forms of public debate and who had the resources, both in terms of time and money, to do so. His book, he argues, is a piece of 'thick description' which offers 'fresh insights into the increasingly powerful role of the middle classes in influencing Parliamentary politics from outside the confines of Westminster'

"This essay describes the situation of religion in Hong Kong. Particular attention is paid on its social role in the community. Starting in the 19th Century, Hong Kong transformed from a rural region dominated by traditional Chinese culture to a modernized, globalized and value pluralistic society. It also underwent a process of colonization and de-colonization. It is an interesting issue how various types of religion adapt to this rapidly changing social and political environment. The following section introduces the historical background of Hong Kong. Section III provides a brief sketch of the ethical situation of this society. It is intended to set the stage for the analysis of the situation of religion and its social role in the society in sections IV and V. The historic process of de-colonization in the 1980's and the 1990's has big impact on religion. Section VI discusses how various types of religion are affected by this political change and how they respond to it." (author's abstract)

The controversy over mixing religion & politics has not kept religion apart from Gov. Religious groups participate in a wide variety of pol'al activities. But religious groups in the US are not organized as pol'al parties or machines. There is a relation between religious affiliation & party affiliation. The correlation, however, does not usually indicate a 'religious' vote. In part, the relation reflects SES. For Catholics & Jews it is very much a result of awareness of minority status. As minority awareness declines, trends in voting change. There is no pattern of voting for or against candidates because of their religion. The importance of religion in a presidential election cannot be assessed on the basis of other elections. The election of a Catholic president would not change the nature of our Gov, but it would have an effect on US politics. AA.

Introduces the excerpts from the 73rd annual conference of the Couchiching Inst on Public Affairs, "God's Back with a Vengeance: Religion, Pluralism, and the Secular State." Themes included increased religious adherence in certain parts of the world & that global tension or terrorism is not an inherent outcome of strong religious beliefs. L. Collins Leigh

Religion and politics in post-communism -- Competing models of church-state relations -- Religion and nationalism -- Confronting the communist past -- The politics of Orthodox-Greek Catholic relations -- Religion and elections -- Religious education in public schools -- Religion, politics, and sexuality --Religion, democratization, and Eueopean Union enlargement -- Appendix