Richard Holloway

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This so ...

(born 26 November 1933) is a Scottish writer, broadcaster and

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the t ...

. He was the

Bishop of Edinburgh The Bishop of Edinburgh, or sometimes the Lord Bishop of Edinburgh is the ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Edinburgh. Prior to the Reformation, Edinburgh was part of the Diocese of St Andrews, under the Archbishop of St Andrews ...

from 1986 to 2000 and

Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, styled "The Most Reverend the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church", is the presiding bishop of the Scottish Episcopal Church. The current Primus is the Most Revd. Mark Strange who became primus on ...

from 1992 to 2000.

Early life and education

Born in

Possilpark Possilpark is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow, situated north of the River Clyde and centred around Saracen Street. The area developed around Saracen Foundry of Walter MacFarlane & Co., which was the main employer. In the wake of the ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

, and brought up in Alexandria in the

Vale of Leven The Vale of Leven (Scottish Gaelic: ''Magh Leamhna'') is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning '' ...

Dumbartonshire Dunbartonshire ( gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann) or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders Pe ...

, Holloway was educated at

Kelham Theological College Kelham is a small village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire about northwest of Newark on a bend in the A617 road near its crossing of the River Trent. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 207. Historical Kelham ...

Edinburgh Theological College The Edinburgh Theological College was founded in 1810 to train Anglican clergy to serve in the Scottish Episcopal Church. In 1891 the college moved to Coates Hall in Rosebery Avenue where it gradually expanded to include residential accommodation ...

and the Union Theological Seminary,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

Career

Between 1958 and 1986 he was a curate, vicar and rector at various parishes in England, Scotland and the United States. He was Bishop of Edinburgh from 1986 and was elected

in 1992. He resigned from these positions in 2000 and is now regarded as one of the most outspoken and controversial figures in the church, having taken an

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficie ...

worldview and commenting widely on issues concerning religious belief in the modern world. His own theological position has become increasingly radical and he has described himself as an "after-religionist", with strong faith in humanity. Holloway is well known for his support of

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy pa ...

causes, including campaigning on

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

for

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

and lesbian people in both

church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular stat ...

. He is a patron of

LGBT Youth Scotland LGBT Youth Scotland is a Scottish youth organisation dedicated to the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) young people from 13 to 25 year of age in Scotland. It was established in November 1989 as the Stonewall Youth Proj ...

, an organisation dedicated to the inclusion of

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term i ...

young people in the life of Scotland. He has questioned and addressed complex

ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of morality, right and wrong action (philosophy), behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, alo ...

issues in the areas of

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied wi ...

drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...

and

bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, med ...

. He has written extensively on these topics, being the author of more than 20 books exploring their relationship with modern religion. Holloway was elected as a fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

(1997) and holds honorary degrees from the universities of Strathclyde (1994), Aberdeen (1997), Napier (2000), Glasgow (2002) and St Andrews (2017). He was professor of divinity at

Gresham College Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England. It does not enroll students or award degrees. It was founded in 1596 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham, and hosts ...

in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. From 1990 to 1997, he was a member of the

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom. It is a statutory body that regulates and inspects all clinics in the United ...

and held the position of chair of the BMA Steering Group on Ethics and Genetics. He was also a member of the

Broadcasting Standards Commission The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

and is a former chair of the

Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council ( gd, Comhairle Ealain na h-Alba, sco, Scots Airts Cooncil) was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from the ...

and Sistema Scotland. Holloway has been a reviewer and writer for the broadsheet press for several years, including ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', ''

Sunday Herald The ''Sunday Herald'' was a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published between 7 February 1999 and 2 September 2018. Originally a broadsheet, it was published in compact format from 20 November 2005. The paper was known for having combined a cent ...

'' and ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pa ...

''. He is also a frequent presenter on radio and television, having hosted the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

television series ''When I Get to Heaven'', ''Holloway's Road'' and ''The Sword and the Cross''. He currently hosts the

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scotland, Scottish radio station, radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same na ...

book review programme ''Cover Stories''. He presented the second of the Radio 4 ''

Lent Talks ''Lent Talks'' is a series of talks, normally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 8:45 p.m. on a Wednesday in the United Kingdom, to mark the Christian season of Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the l ...

'' on 11 March 2009. On 28 May 2012 he began presenting a 15-minute programme about faith and doubt, following ''

The World at One ''The World at One'', or ''WATO'' ("what-oh") for short, is BBC Radio 4's long-running lunchtime news and current affairs programme, produced by BBC News, which is currently broadcast from 13:00 to 13:45 from Monday to Friday. The programme de ...

'' on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

, called ''

Honest Doubt ''Honest Doubt: The History of an Epic Struggle'' is a series of twenty 15-minute radio essays by the author and former Bishop of Edinburgh, Richard Holloway. It was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 28 May and 22 June 2012, rebroadcast ...

: The History of an Epic Struggle'' and in 2016 he presented the Radio 4 series ''Three Score Years and Ten'', a reflection on human mortality. His book ''Leaving Alexandria: A Memoir of Faith and Doubt'' talks about his life from childhood, and his 2016 book, ''A Little History of Religion'' (published by Yale University Press), has received positive reviews from Peter Stanford of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

'', Ian Thomson of ''

The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikke ...

'' ("exhaustive account"), Stuart Kelly of ''

'' and John Charmley of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...

'' ("Holloway's technique, like his prose, beguiles"), among others. His book ''Waiting For The Last Bus'' was published in early 2018 and contains his reflections upon death and mortality. It has been praised for its "erudite quotes" on the subject. His most recent book ''The Heart of Things'' (2021) is a personal reflection on his life, with extracts from favourite poems. In the final chapter, on forgiving, he stresses an important fact that we can read our lives through the prism of heroism or defeat or resignation or shame. But only admitting our own weakness will make us kind, help us identify with others and act kin to kin. In his closing verses he concludes that, in the absence of certainty about God or an afterlife, 'I, who walked the hills, I, who saw white hares dancing in the snow on Lammermuir, should be grateful for life, even as it passes'.

Personal life

Holloway lives in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

with his American-born wife Jean. They have three adult children: two daughters and a son.

Selected works

* ''Beyond Belief'' (1982) * ''Paradoxes of Christian Faith and Life'' (1984) * ''The Way of the Cross'' (1987) * ''Crossfire: Faith and Doubt in an Age of Uncertainty'' (1987) * ''Who Needs Feminism? Male Responses to Sexism in the Church'' (1990) * ''Anger, Sex, Doubt and Death'' (1992) * ''Dancing On The Edge: Faith In A Post-Christian Age'' (1997) * ''Godless Morality: Keeping Religion out of Ethics'' (2000) * ''Doubts and Loves: What is Left of Christianity'' (2000) * ''On Forgiveness: How Can We Forgive the Unforgivable?'' (2002) * ''Looking in the Distance: The Human Search for Meaning'' (2004) * ''How To Read The Bible'' (2006) * ''Between the Monster and the Saint'' (2012) * ''Leaving Alexandria: A Memoir of Faith and Doubt'' (2014) * ''A Little History of Religion'' (2016) * ''Waiting For The Last Bus'' (2018) * ''Stories We Tell Ourselves: Making Meaning in a Meaningless Universe'' (2020) * ''The Heart of Things'' (2021)

References

External links

Biography at the Westar Institute

Address to the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holloway, Richard 1933 births Living people Clergy from Glasgow Primuses of the Scottish Episcopal Church Bishops of Edinburgh Scottish agnostics Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scottish Episcopal theologians Scottish television presenters Scottish radio presenters Scottish LGBT rights activists 20th-century Scottish Episcopalian bishops Academics of Gresham College Alumni of Kelham Theological College Members of the Jesus Seminar British former Christians Former Anglicans