Tina Beattie is professor of Catholic studies at Roehampton University, England. Among her books are God's Mother, Eve's Advocate (Continuum, 2002), New Catholic Feminism: Theology and Theory (Routledge 2005), and The New Atheists: The Assault on Religion and the Twilight of Reason (Darton, Longman & Todd, 2007). Her website is here

Recent articles

The enigmatic urban artist Banksy has created an exhibition of his work in the main gallery-museum of his home city of Bristol in western England. This is much more than "graffiti art", says Tina Beattie: its mix of wit, anger, imagination and humanity makes it a triumph of dissenting liberality over authoritarianism.

(This article was first published on 24 June 2009)

The Danish filmmaker’s compelling drama uses the moving image as a celluloid icon to explore the depths of the Christian unconscious and its metaphysical terrors and longings. Tina Beattie reflects on “Antichrist”.

[This essay reveals some key events in the film's narrative]

The shallow and indulgent godlessness of the new atheists is thrown into stark relief by the real thing represented in the visceral work of the painter Francis Bacon, says Tina Beattie.

Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight is a parable for our time that offers a bleak insight into the moral bankruptcy of democracy in a post-9/11 world, says Tina Beattie.

The furious media and public reaction to an address on religious law by the head of England's established church is an index of Britain's deep social crisis, says Tina Beattie.