Faith and the courts

Ian McEwan’s latest novel, The Children’s Act, pits religious belief against the law.

Crossing the Culture Rachel Helen Smith

The title is a reference to the 1989 Children’s Act, which claims that when a court comes to deal with any issue concerning children, the child’s welfare shall be the court’s paramount consideration. The Act discusses parental responsibility and states what should be done in cases where parents do not co-operate with the law or with statutory bodies. This is just what happens in McEwan’s novel.