Maurice Cowling was one of the most controversial historians and thinkers of the last 40 years and a key figure in modern British Conservatism. His work on intellectual and political history assaulted conventional understanding of the political process and challenged the liberal and secular ideas which have been so pervasive in modern Britain. Here, leading scholars disclose Cowling's vision of British democracy and place it in its broader intellectual context. This book therefore provides a powerful multi-disciplinary explanation of Conservative thought about public life in modern Britain, and sheds light upon the interface between philosophy, politics, religion and British democracy.