When this paper first appeared in 1840, the religious orders were considered to be in terminal decline. What followed was a remarkable story of reinvention and revival, although they once again face an uncertain future Religious life has a surprisingly high profile in the popular imagination. There is a special place for the fanatical monk in Dan Brown’s lurid universe, and sinister, cowled figures are a constant in horror movies. Every version of Robin Hood has its Friar Tuck. And our multicultural sensitivities have seen to it that for a younger generation “the monk”, bulletproof or otherwise, is more likely to be identified as a martial arts practitioner than a man of prayer.Religious life is no less deeply embedded in the life and imagination of the Church. Its orig