January 1, 1970

Finest Hour 191, First Quarter 2021

Page 04

By David Freeman, January 2021


Last year, emotions, pent up in part by restrictions imposed by a global pandemic, erupted in the streets of Britain and North America. Anger about racism motivated many of the demonstrators, and many historical reputations were gainsaid. Churchill’s was no exception. Churchill’s views on race, however, can scarcely be separated from those he held about religion. Accordingly, we present here a holistic view of these related subject areas.

To introduce this issue, we are honored to have a foreword by the Rt. Hon. Lord Boateng, who recently became the Chair of the Churchill Archive Trust and previously was the United Kingdom’s first black cabinet minister. A man of faith himself, Lord Boateng places Churchill’s legacy in a contemporary context.

Although born and raised in the Church of England, Churchill abandoned traditional Christianity as a young adult. He remained, nevertheless, a nominal Anglican and believed that the state church still had a role to play in the affairs of the nation. Philip Williamson examines “Churchill and the Churches” during the Second World War, while Julia Stapleton considers Churchill’s relationship with a particular bishop, who enthusiastically supported the prime minister.

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All his life Churchill showed enormous respect for those whom he regarded as people of the Book. Michael Makovsky traces Churchill’s philo-Semitism and how it helped contribute to the birth of Israel. Imam Ahmed Abdel Rahman El Mahdi, grandson of the Mahdi whose insurrection in Sudan ultimately led to Churchill’s participation in the River War in 1898, considers the history of these events and finds a man with a profound respect for Islam.

To complete the story, Zareer Masani examines the extremely controversial field of Churchill and India, which includes some insights into Churchill’s views about Hinduism. By examining facts in context, Masani finds a robust champion of the people of South Asia.

Finally, we pay tribute to the late Paul H. Courtenay, many years a Senior Editor of this journal, who completed work on our previous issue just before his death in October.

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