Theos Annual Lecture 2024 - Does the future have a church?

Understanding faith. Enriching society.Theosis the UK’s leading religion and society think tank, and has a Christian basis. We exist to enrich the conversation about religion in public life, seeing the wisdom of our faith traditions and the people in our faith communities as gifts and not threats, essential for flourishing societies.CCLAis the UK’s leading fund managers for charities, faith and public sector organisations with a long history of managing assets for Christian organisations. They also provide the Secretariat for the Church Investors Group, that helps Christian investors world-wide develop and implement investment policies based on their faith.

Theos, sponsored by CCLA

Join Theos and special guests for an evening discussing the future of Christianity in the UK. #Theos24

BMA House

Does the future have a church?Christian identification and practice have declined sharply over recent decades in the West, even in America. The Church of England seems to reel from crisis to crisis. Far right groups have tried to appropriate Christian symbols and identity.Yet even Christianity’s most devoted enemies find it hard to deny the sheer volume of the churches’ practical presence and good in communities across the world. A whole host of unlikely figures – from Jordan Peterson, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Russell Brand, Elon Musk, Louise Perry, Paul Kingsnorth, Nick Cave, Tom Holland, even Richard Dawkins – have been saying positive things about Christianity. And however much people’s institutional affiliation to religions has waned, their interest in the spiritual has not.What is going on? What is the future for the church? In an increasingly unstable and dark world, will people return to or at least reconsider belief, or are we continuing to hear the ‘melancholy, long, withdrawing roar’ of faith?Join Theos, the religion and society think tank, and special guests for an evening discussing the future of Christianity in the UK. Panelists:Daisy Scalchi – BBC head of religion and ethicsJustin Brierley – broadcaster, author and speakerMadeleine Davies – senior writer, Church TimesBishop Mike Royal – general secretary of Churches Together in EnglandMary Harrington – Writer and author of Feminism Against ProgressThe panel will be chaired by Dr Nick Spencer, senior fellow at Theos, and the event will be hosted by Theos director Chine McDonald. Daisy Scalchi is the BBC's Head of Religion and Ethics for Television. She commissions many titles with the aim of reflecting the UK's diverse range of faith and beliefs. Prior to joining the BBC, Daisy was a director and BAFTA-nominated producer, delivering programmes across all genres to several major broadcasters and streamers including BBC, Netflix, Channel4, Discovery, ITV, ITN and Channel5. In Development, she also won new commissions for networks including Discovery, NatGeo and the BBC.Justin Brierley is an author speaker and broadcaster. His award-winning book and podcast series The Surprising Rebirth Of Belief In God tells the story of why new atheism grew old and secular thinkers are considering Christianity again.Madeleine Davies is a senior writer at the Church Times, a newspaper that has covered the Church and State since 1863. She also writes for the New Statesman. Her book, Lights for the Path, which explored bereavement in adolescence, was published by SPCK in 2020.Mike Royal is the General Secretary of Churches Together in England. He is former co-CEO of the Cinnamon Network, helping churches engage with best practice social action and former National Director of award-winning vulnerable children and young people's charity Transforming Lives for Good. Mike has an academic background in urban planning and black theology and is a mental health chaplain with Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust.Mary Harrington is the author of Feminism Against Progress (Forum Press, 2023), which re-reads the history of the women's movement as a story of technological revolutions, and argues that importing the assumptions of industrial-era feminism into the biotech age is inimical to women's contemporary interests. Mary advocates a feminism that is realist about our limits, and grounded in embodiment, interdependence, and solidarity. Mary is a contributing editor at UnHerd, and her work has been published in the New Statesman, the Spectator, the Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Mail on Sunday and a great many others. About Theos<a href="https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/" title="https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Theos</a> is the UK’s leading religion and society think tank. We exist to tell a better story about Christianity in particular and faith in general, both in the sense of more accurate and honest but also more appealing and attractive. We believe that religious faith is a gift and not a threat, and properly understood has the potential to inform and enrich our societies.We believe that Christian ideas about human flourishing, honed over many centuries, can help us as a society navigate through some of the most challenging issues of our time.We are delighted again to partner with CCLA for this lecture. <a href="https://www.ccla.co.uk/" title="https://www.ccla.co.uk/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">CCLA</a> is the UK’s leading fund manager for charities, faith and public sector organisations with a long history of managing assets for Christian organisations; and, this year, it will be possible for individuals to invest in their newly launched Better World fund. CCLA also provide the Secretariat for the Church Investors Group, that helps Christian investors world-wide develop and implement investment policies based on their faith. Further detailsThe event will be held on Tuesday, 26 November, at BMA House, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JP. The venue is accessible. Doors will open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start, and the lecture will be followed by a drinks and canapés reception.The lecture will not be livestreamed but will be filmed and available to watch following the event. Full information on getting to the venue and access can be found <a href="https://bmahouse.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/BMA-House-Location-Map-with-Directions.pdf#:~:text=Directions%20from%20Euston%20Station.%20Walk%20into%20the%20station%20forecourt%20with" title="https://bmahouse.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/BMA-House-Location-Map-with-Directions.pdf#:~:text=Directions%20from%20Euston%20Station.%20Walk%20into%20the%20station%20forecourt%20with" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">here</a>.

Agenda

Welcome and Registration

With special guests Daisy Scalchi, Justin Brierley, Madeleine Davies,  Bishop Mike Royal and Mary Harrington.

Panel Discussion

Drinks Reception

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Theos Annual Lecture 2024 - Does the future have a church?

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