Outspoken Essays brings together William Ralph Inge’s reflections on religion and public life, most of which had previously appeared in leading British reviews. The collection ranges from patriotism, democracy and the social consequences of the First World War to population, birth rates and the future of British society. These essays reveal Inge’s scepticism towards political idealism and his concern with the pressures he believed modern social and economic change placed on civilisation.

The larger part of the volume addresses Christianity and religious institutions. Inge examines the Church of England, Roman Catholic Modernism, Cardinal Newman and St Paul, while also considering the relationship between institutional religion and personal mysticism. He discusses challenges to traditional doctrine arising from historical criticism and modern philosophy, and explores arguments concerning Christianity’s social influence. The final essays consider religious belief, mortality and the possibility of personal survival after death.