Vocal minorities get more attention in the media than they deserve by drowning out religious moderates. The most recent event in a series of public debates examined this thorny problem In religion, one of the most striking turns since the 1970s has been that from liberalism to conservatism. Whether we think of the Catholic Church retrenching in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, the rapid rise of Islamism, or the growth of nationalist Hinduism, the direction of travel has been the same. Even the famously woolly Church of England has not been immune with its opposition to gay marriage – despite the fact that more Anglicans are now in favour of the new legislation than against. In relation to the ordination of women bishops, a conservative minority called the tune for many years