Character and Identity

Questions of trust, probity and integrity dominate public life in contemporary Britain. These issues often coalesce around questions of character. We speak of ‘being a character’, ‘having character’, and ‘character flaws’, but how does the idea of ‘character’ enrich our understanding of what it means to be human? If character is ‘the guiding core of who we are’, how does it develop? Can it be taught? What makes a ‘good character’ and who decides? Does ‘character’ make any difference to the way in which we exercise leadership? Why should character matter?

Molly Boot is a writer, ordinand, and a trustee of Greenbelt. She has recently contributed to a series of essays entitled Young, Woke, and Christian: Words from a Missing Generation, published by SCM Press (2022).