The Church and the Vegetarian
movement in Britain
(1809 - 2009)
by John M. Gilheany
Reviews
The Catholic Herald
"John Gilheany traces the Christian vegetarian movement in Britain from 1809 when the Bible Christian Church, whose members vowed not to eat meat, was founded in Salford. A leader of the group, Joseph Brotherton, formed the Vegetarian Society 30 years later. Francis Newman - brother of Blessed John Henry - was also a president in the 1880s.
This well-written and engaging book explores the movement's growing influence at the turn of the century, its decline after the Second World War and its sudden popularity (albeit without the Christian element) in the 1960s. It covers debates between G K Chesterton and George Bernard Shaw, a change in Pope Pius X's diet, and a Jesuit who founded a community of vegetarian religious in Wales. It includes quite a few photographs, lots of footnotes, and judicious quoting from contemporary writing." - Mark Greaves
The Salvationist
WITH the current concern for climate change, ecological damage, world hunger, world health and conservation, this book has vital relevance. Although the author describes his study as 'entirely amateur', he presents us with a professional, deeply researched and finely balanced account. (read more)
The Peaceable Table
This careful, well-documented chronology will be of immense benefit to all future researchers in this field. The narrative begins with the founding of the Bible Christian Church, an offshoot of the Swedenborgian "New Church," by the Rev. William Cowherd, formerly an Anglican priest and Swedenborgian minister. (read more)
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