Economist surveys British Catholics

'The fruits of adversity' is the title of a detailed piece by the magazine's excellent religion correspondent. It finds that nowadays Catholic Britons "have little reason to call themselves embattled. In an historic reversal, adherents of their faith have been named to one top job after another", and offers some examples: Mark Thompson, Director General of the BBC; Lord Patten, chancellor of Oxford University; and Michael Martin, former speaker of the House of Commons.

But there's a name missing from the list: John Micklethwait (photo), editor of The Economist and author of the fascinating God is Back: how global rise of faith is changing the world.

The article is mostly about the positive impact of foreigners: "Under the impact of immigration," the article observes, "Catholic churches are flourishing". But it also notes that "another contingent is formed by young, successful men and women whose style and theology are conservative: believers in 'salvation by tweed alone, as one clerical wag dubs them."