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must in the end be decisive. The result of this, however, is that a fair number of things are assumed without being justified. On abortion, for example, there is no discussion of the moral status of the early embryo and the long tradition that suggested this was different from its later more developed stage. There is also more than a tendency to assume that if Christians do not take the Catholic line it is simply accommodation to the spirit of the age. But on same-sex relationships for example, there is a very strong moral case for affirming permanent stable ones as partaking of the nature of marriage. In a final chapter, John Duddington floats two ideas that have little to commend them. He argues that the churches should have their own personal legal systems in some areas, in employment law for example, as the Jewish community does over marriage and divorce. He also argues that there should be a new concordat or comprehensive settlement between all religious groups and the state, setting out their respective rights and duties. But we do in fact already have laws in this country which make serious provision for religious bodies and give them real latitude. There are a number of spelling mistakes and the index is less than adequate. Since the book was published, the House of Commons has voted decisively to reject the idea of legalizing assisted dying.