'Bishops, Boozers, Brethren & Burkas: A Cartoon History of Religion in New Zealand' by Mike Grimshaw

Author Mike Grimshaw discusses his book

Mike Grimshaw discusses his new book, 'Bishops, Boozers, Brethren & Burkas', published in June 2019 as part of the New Zealand Cartoon Archive’s monograph series. Grimshaw will use cartoons from 1860s to the present day to discuss the way religion in New Zealand has been represented by our cartoonists.

History via cartoons

There is no general history of religion in New Zealand, so this book is a unique contribution, providing not only a cartoon history of religion in this country but also a history via cartoons.

Changing views on religion

From the 1860s, settlers viewed issues of religion and politics as problematic, but in the main, religion remained part of the fabric of society. However, religion was more of a concern for our cartoonists as New Zealand became an increasingly secular nation from the 1970s onwards. This not only reflects the generation of cartoonists whose work was published from the 1970s but also a shift in New Zealand society more generally.

Overall, when religion was less of a contested identity and influence, cartoonists tended to leave religion — and the church alone. However, as the country became, very quickly, a secular society from the 1970s onwards, religion was a target of cartoonists. Religion and the religious were increasingly presented as representing religious and social attitudes and beliefs regarded as out of step with a modern society.

About the speaker

Mike Grimshaw (PhD Otago) is Associate Professor in Sociology at University of Canterbury, New Zealand. A founding series editor for Radical Theologies and Philosophies (Palgrave Macmillan) and founding co-editor of Continental Thought & Theory (), he toils at the intersections of radical theology, continental thought and cultural and social theory.

Mike also has a focus on New Zealand religious and intellectual history; recently publishing a book of interviews with the New Zealand radical religious thinker Sir Lloyd Geering 'Geering Interviews'(Polebridge, USA, 2018), and edited the letters of the noted New Zealand philosopher Arthur Prior "Arthur Prior, ‘a young progressive'" (Canterbury University Press, 2018).

Continental Thought & Theory