The Eclipse of Christianity and Why It Matters

The mainstream Churches are faltering – or even at risk of dying out – in their European and Middle Eastern heartlands. Surveys confirm that only a minority of people in a country such as Britain now claim Christian allegiance. The pattern is being matched in neighbouring societies. At the same time many opinion formers preach secularist ideology with a self-confidence shading into dogmatism. Others, unsure of their moorings, feel residual attachment to faith, while being sceptical about the existence of God and other articles of belief.   

Yet church teaching remains intellectually robust, as well as inspiring a transformative global presence. In this major and wide-ranging international study – both a report on the unsettling consequences of secularisation and a defence of a creed too often belittled by its opponents – Rupert Shortt outlines Christianity’s fading profile in the present, but also argues compellingly that the world’s most prominent spiritual tradition remains critical to the survival of a humane culture.

Rupert Shortt will be in conversation with Dr Nick Spencer, Senior Fellow at the think tank, Theos. The event will be recorded for the podcast Reading Our Times.

Nick Spencer will also be speaking at sessions The Truth about AI (and other tech that will change your life) and Lower than the Angels A History of Sex and Christianity.

Speakers

Rupert Shortt

Rupert Shortt is a bestselling author and Research Associate at the Von Hügel Institute, University of Cambridge. He was Religion Editor of The Times Literary Supplement from 2000 to 2020 and has written for a range of publications, including the FT, Guardian, Church Times and Spectator.