Are we looking at the imminent death of religious life in the church at a future full of hope or at something in between? This book based on papers given at a colloquium run by the Religious Life Institute (Heythrop College University of London) addresses urgent questions around the renewal & survival of religious life from a British & Irish religious & lay perspective. Despite recent scandals & a steady diminishment of numbers since Vatican II religious remain a powerful source of inspiration & positive energy within church & society. Some fifty years after the Council todays context & questions are different. Did the Council bring about a renewal or an implosion of religious life? Who is looking at religious vocation today? What are they seeking & what are they finding? With a foreword by former Dominican Master General Timothy Radcliffe leading authors on religious life with lay & religious colleagues explore these questions & propose answers in a book offering material for group & personal reflection.