This article starts with a discussion of two books published in the mid-1990s; these are publications that provide a benchmark for later comparisons. Some subsequent ‘episodes’ in the life of modern Britain are then considered, all of which throw light on the religious situation in this country and its likely futures. The empirical data that emerge from these case studies provide a framework for a discussion of (a) increasing religious pluralism, and (b) church and state. The article concludes by placing Britain in its European context, underlining the theoretical questions that arise if this approach is adopted.