There may be no God, ‘but let us live as though there were’, says Bishop Richard Holloway

As bishop of Edinburgh, Richard Holloway led his congregation in prayer and offered spiritual guidance to his flock in the Scottish episcopal church.

But now the former head of the Anglican church in Scotland has told how he began to lose his faith in God five years after he was ordained as a priest.

For years he was the tabloid’s favourite “Barmy Bishop”, as well as a popular if sometimes controversial figure among Scotland’s nearly 60,000 Episcopalians. Now Holloway’s new memoir, Leaving Alexandria, is rising rapidly up the best-seller lists and appears set to become a milestone in the 78-year-old former bishop’s career.

No stranger to controversy, the author of 25 books often wrestling with issues of faith told The Scotsman how his belief in the Bible began to ebb away within a few years of his ordination, although he continued to do his parish work. Keep reading