“Is Religion a personality trait?” asked a Year 10 student.

“No,” I said, “traits are things internal, things intrinsic. Religion is external, extrinsic to people, but it does Shape people’s personality. People’s religious beliefs will shape how they think and how they behave.”

In the secular society that is England, it is hard to imagine how much faith means to people elsewhere, how what they believe can shape their perception of every situation, even extreme ones.

I remember a lady for whom I conducted a house blessing in 1997. There …