During and immediately after the First World War, there was a merging of Christian and nationalist traditions of martyrdom, expressed in the design of war cemeteries and war memorials, and the state funeral of the Unknown Warrior in 1920. John Wolffe explores the subsequent development of these traditions of 'sacred' and 'secular' martyrdom, analysing the ways in which they operated - sometimes in parallel, sometimes merged together and sometimes in conflict with each other.
Particular topics explored include the Protestant commemoration of Marian and missionary martyrs, and the Roman Catholic campaign for the canonization of the 'saints and martyrs of England'. Secular martyrdom is discussed in relation to military conflicts especially the Second World War and the Falklands. In Ireland there was a particularly persistent merging of sacred and secular martyrdom in the wake of the Easter Rising of 1916 although by the time of the Northern Ireland 'Troubles' in the later twentieth-century these traditions diverged. In covering these themes, the book also offers historical and comparative context for understanding present-day acts of martyrdom in the form of suicide attacks.

John Wolffe is Professor of Religious History at the Open University, UK, and recently (2013-15) held an RCUK Global Uncertainties Leadership Fellowship which supported the research for this book. He is the author of numerous books and articles on modern North Atlantic religious history, especially evangelicalism, religion and nationalism and responses to death.

Preface
1. Varieties of Martyrdom
2. The Cross of Sacrifice: Commemorating the Dead of the First World War
3. Faiths of their Fathers and their Children: Varieties of Martyrdom in Inter-War Britain
4. From Easter to Good Friday: Martyrs for Ireland
5. Christian Martyrdom and War Remembrance: From the Second World War to the Falklands
6. Rejecting and Reinventing Martyrdom: The Sacred and the Secular since the 1980s
7. Conclusion: The Legacies of History
Appendix: Interviewee Key Characteristics and Dates
Bibliography
Index