What We Talk About When We Talk About Faith

It is encouraging that a large number of public figures are willing to speak openly about their faith. * Idea Magazine * Well-respected journalist Peter Stanford has collected 44 of the most memorable interviews of his career into a single volume … Reading the book is a bit like being at a party at which one starts one fascinating conversation after another … Journalism is an ephemeral business, but Stanford is one of those journalists whose output, as this collection demonstrates, stands the test of time. – Ted Harrison, former BBC religious affairs correspondent * Church Times * The book mercifully avoids the temptation to be pious and overly-confessional. Laid bare are real struggles people have to believe…Stanford captures the fact that, for people of faith, their religion is just part and parcel of who they are rather than something they constantly think about…There is food for thought and fascinating insights into a side of life that people rarely talk about publicly. * Irish Independent * With this book, Stanford inspires us to explore our own individual faith, finding the ways to practice our beliefs that work best for our lives and our needs. * Irish Catholic * A fascinating and well-produced collection of conversations about faith… not simply an invitation to voyeurism, but the opportunity to reflect deeply upon our own faith… A really good book to read and reflect upon. * Methodist Recorder * Stanford has given us a collection of brief and varied insights into the struggle of being a believer today… The reader can dip into these pages to savour now one interview, now another… to see which resonates most. As Stanford explores motivations, examines habits and exposes doubts, I found myself mourning the passing of religion as a publicly recognised resource that everyone can draw on, to build a better family, a better country and a better world. – Cristina Odone * The Catholic Herald *

Peter Stanford’s previous investigations into the history, theology, enduring appeal and cultural significance of religious ideas include:

• Martin Luther: Catholic Dissident
• Judas: The Troubling History of the Renegade Apostle
• The Devil - A Biography
• Heaven - A Traveller’s Guide to the Undiscovered Country
• The She-Pope, an investigation of the Pope Joan legend.

His other books include biographies of Bronwen Astor, Lord Longford and the Poet Laureate, C Day-Lewis. His polemical Catholics and Sex became an award-winning Channel 4 series in 1992.

He is a senior features writer at the Daily and Sunday Telegraph titles and contributes to the Independent, the Observer, the Daily Mail and the Catholic weekly, The Tablet, where he is a columnist.

He has presented programmes on BBC 1, Channel 4 and Channel 5, as well as BBC Radios 2 and 4 and the BBC World Service.

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