Worth dying for?

The looming prospect of World War Three? A decline in the number of young people applying for ministry apprenticeships, training courses and job adverts (see Karen Soole's article in this issue)?

There might not seem to be much linking these disparate situations. But maybe there’s a common thread.

Whether or not we are in the run-up to global war, the possibility is being much-discussed in the media. According to the reputable polling company YouGov, ‘most Britons’ now think such a conflict is ‘likely’ in the next five to ten years. General Sir Patrick Sanders, head of the British Army, said UK citizens should be ‘trained and equipped’ to fight Russia as we are now a ‘pre-war generation’.