He resigned from these positions in 2000 and is now regarded as one of the most outspoken and controversial figures in the church,[1] having taken an agnostic worldview and commenting widely on issues concerning religious belief in the modern world.
Holloway was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1997) and holds honorary degrees from the universities of Strathclyde (1994), Aberdeen (1997), Napier (2000), Glasgow (2002) and St Andrews (2017).
[4] Holloway has been a reviewer and writer for the broadsheet press for several years, including The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, Sunday Herald and The Scotsman.
[5] His 2012 book Leaving Alexandria: A Memoir of Faith and Doubt talks about his life from childhood,[6] and his 2016 book, A Little History of Religion (published by Yale University Press), has[clarification needed] received positive reviews from Peter Stanford of The Observer,[7] Ian Thomson of The Financial Times ("exhaustive account"), Stuart Kelly of The Scotsman and John Charmley of The Sunday Times ("Holloway's technique, like his prose, beguiles"), among others.
In his closing verses he concludes that, in the absence of certainty about God or an afterlife, "I, who walked the hills, I, who saw white hares dancing in the snow on Lammermuir, should be grateful for life, even as it passes".
With the help of poets,writers, musicians and artists, Richard Holloway offers his reflections on how a good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.