Oxford theologian wins non-fiction prize

A book by Oxford University theologian Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch has won the 2010 Cundill Prize in History at McGill University. Professor MacCulloch won the $75,000 award, regarded as the world's most important non-fiction prize, for his book 'A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years'. Professor MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church and Fellow of St Cross College, said: 'I'm delighted naturally enough for myself but equally for this vote of confidence in those who explore the history of religions. Peter Cundill, so successful in the world of business (which is not always good at taking the long view), has affirmed the work of all historians with his spectacular generosity.' I'm delighted naturally enough for myself but equally for this vote of confidence in those who explore the history of religions Adam Gopnik, author and contributor to The New Yorker magazine, said on behalf of the Cundill Prize judges: 'At a time when quarrels between believers and non believers, new atheists and old faithfuls, dominate so much of our public discourse, Diarmaid MacCulloch has given us the one thing that we most need - not polemic but history, high, wide, and lucid, and, given the enormity of his task, often winningly light of touch. 'Taking as his subject nothing less than the whole history of the faith, MacCulloch has written a social history that illuminates changes in belief; and a history of belief that helps us see how our society got so much of its structure.