Reading Our Times

The idea that our country is Christian - in the historical sense of having been comprehensively formed by the faith - is sometimes taken as a kind of Christian nationalist dog whistle. But it shouldn't be. In reality, this is true for most countries in Europe, in which, in spite of massive secularisation in the later 20th century, Christianity's fingerprints are everywhere. So, what is Eng...

Immigration is a major issue in the contemporary world, a - if not the - driver of nationalist movements the world over. It is impossible to think about nationalism today, religious or otherwise, without thinking first about immigration. But immigration is also a hard subject to think about, not because of a paucity of information but because of a glut. Awash with statistics, anecdotes and persona...

"Woke" has become one of the most contested words in contemporary culture, deployed as a badge of honour by some, a term of abuse by others. But what does it actually mean, and does it constitute a serious ideological movement or merely a passing fashion? In today's episode, Nick talks to writer, comedian and broadcaster Andrew Doyle, best known as the creator of satirical persona Ti...

Unpalatable truth as it may be, there are some, especially today, who draw on the Bible to exclude and vilify others, as a way of protecting and the "pure" Christian culture of Europe or the West. It's not an altogether new phenomenon - people have deployed the Bible for militaristic ends since the Crusades - but it appears to be growing once again, as the Europe comes under "attack" from immigran...

Buddhism is often seen in the West as a religion of peace and serenity - rarely, if ever, associated with violence. But that comforting image has obscured a darker and more complex reality playing out across Southeast Asia.  Journalist and author Sonia Faleiro joins Nick Spencer to explore her latest book The Robe and the Sword , which examines how Buddhist nationalism has fuelled ethnic tension,...

European Christian politics is not new. Indeed, the religion has been an integral politcal factor for 1700 years. But something has changed over the last 20 years. Increasingly, a secularised form of Christian politics is taking centre-stage, in which populist leaders celebrate Christianity, but without the Christ bit. What forms does this secular Christianity take? How does it differ between Euro...

Christian Nationalism seems to be on the rise - particularly in the US, but increasingly in Europe. The phrase, however, is often used vaguely and carelessly. Indeed "Christian nationalism" can be something of a "dustbin" term, into which people throw all the kinds of things they dislike. So, what does it mean? What forms does it take and, with a particular focus on the US, wha...

We live in an increasingly nationalistic age, with globalisation stumbling and international institutions disregarded. But we have been here before. Nations have existed for centuries, but it's only in the last 200 years that nationalism has become such a huge influence. So, where does nationalism come from? How has it changed since its inception? And what can its history tell us about its fut...

Human beings need a sense of purpose but differ strongly on whether that purpose is discovered or created, on whether the universe itself has a purpose or whether purpose is just the result of a hyperactive human mind? This disagreement often maps onto the theist/atheist divide - but not always and not necessarily. Perhaps the issue of purpose is wider than belief in God. So does the universe itse...

What is the ultimate nature of reality? And how best to describe it? Is it fundamentally smooth and continuous, flowing seamlessly from one state to another? Or is it discrete, composed of distinct, separate units that interact across unbridgeable gaps? This ancient philosophical puzzle, which dates back at least as far back as Zeno and his famous paradoxes 2,500 years ago, remains surprisingly ur...

Consciousness is famously called the “hard problem” and it elicits a very wide range of (sometimes very strongly held) opinions. These range from the idea that it is little more than a trick played on us by our brain, to the idea that it is built into the very fabric of matter at the most fundamental level. How does consciousness differ from mindedness? It is all or nothing, or are there grades of...

Everyone has heard of quantum physics. Many of us can parrot its key ideas – uncertainty, entanglement, collapsing the wave function, something to do with a cat… But when it comes to really understanding it, well that’s a different matter altogether. “Anyone who is not shocked by quantum mechanics hasn’t understood it”, wrote the eminent physicist Niels Bohr. So, what is quantum physics? How did i...

The performance of Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time in a freezing WW2 prison camp is one of the most famous moments of 20th century music. The piece and performance spoke to audiences movingly, both then and now, of peace, God, time, and the power of music. Such questions remain powerful today. How imprisoned by time are we? In what sense does music and art enable us to transcend...

The idea of transcendence is common, perhaps even universal, among human beings. But what it means (if anything) is much more debatable. There are different ways of understanding transcendence, some orthodoxly religious; others more heterodox and surprising. How should we understand transcendence? If you can be spiritual but not religious, can you experience transcendence without religion? What do...

Many of the New Atheist arrows fired in the religion wars of 2000s and 2010s hit their target well and hard. The question is, was it the right target? Believers often claim that atheists don't believe in the kind of God that they themselves don't believe in, and that the concept of God in Christian thought is altogether subtle and more sophisticated than critics give credit. What is the ev...

Recent decades have seen the gene as supreme in all discussions of what life is and how it works. Whether selfish, co-operative or eternal, it's genes that matter. But that picture is changing, in favour of a much subtler, more complex and more layered understanding. Life, it seems, goes all the way down (and up). So what role do genes play in life? Where, if anywhere, does agency reside? Are...

Reading our Times is back – and this series we’re getting metaphysical.   We're going to be talking about the building blocks of life, the universe and reality, with scientists, philosophers, theologians and poets.  We’ll be talking to Clare Carlisle about transcendence and Susan Greenfield about consciousness. We’ll talk to Philip Ball about how life really works And to physicist Paul Davies...

Western societies have fallen out of love with (having) children, and all too often this is treated as a policy problem. But in reality, it's a much deeper personal and philosophical one.  What has changed in our attitudes to having children? How do we understand the role and standing and "purpose" of children in society? What, in effect, do we think children are for?  This week Nick...

Choice is so important to who we are in the West is no longer feels like something we do, so much as something we are. Deny someone choice, and it feels like you are challenging their very humanity.  Where does this obsession with choice come from, historically and philosophically? What are its foundations and justifications? And has it gone too far? Can you have too much of this particular good t...

Strange things are happening to Christianity in the West. Some people are talking about revival whereas others are talking about extinction. Whoever is right, the ramifications for our culture will be immense. What is happening? If we are entering a period of eclipse for Christianity, would it matter? Would it simply be strike us through the loss of beautiful buildings and moving music? Or is ther...

The idea that society should grow - and continue to grow, economically, without ending, without limits - is a relatively new and fiercely defended idea. It emerged first in Western countries but has captured much of the world today.  How realistic is it? How "sustainable"? What should we think about “limits to growth”? Is it a narrative of declinism, best ignored? Or a warning we dismiss...

The Russian Orthodox Church has been conspicuous in its support of Putin's war against Ukraine. The reasons seem as obvious as they are depressing.  But behind the politics, there are centuries of history and theology. How did we get here? How is history of the church in Russia shaping the nation's present? How might it shape the future?  This week Nick Spencer talks with Lucy Ash about he...

The UK has one of highest levels of dissatisfaction with democracy in the world, though other Western countries aren't far behind. Hopes that the rest of the world would naturally follow the West and democratise have all but evaporated.  How serious is this decline in democratic sympathy? What lies behind it? What are the deep foundations on which democracy rests? And what, if anything, can be...

One of the major changes in Western society in the last half century is the so-called sexual revolution, and one way of understanding that is to see it as the long, withdrawing roar of a Christian sexual ethic.  But that makes two presuppositions: first, that we have indeed left Christian sexual ethics behind and second that there is such a thing as a single identifiable Christian sexual ethic. Th...

The idea of the West – its foundations, its values, its future – has become much debated over recent months.  What does the political rise of China mean for us? What about the economic rise of the BRICS nations? Or the demographic rise of the global south? Where will power and influence tilt, and to what effect? Is it all over for “the West”?  This week Nick Spencer talks with Samir Puri, Director...