Bright Blue TV: Christianity: just for Christmas?

Join Bright Blue on Thursday afternoon for the next episode of Bright Blue TV on the theme: Christianity: just for Christmas?

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, when billions of Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It’s also the busiest time of year for churches, as many people make their only visit of the year to share in the festivities. As the number of people who identify as Christian in the UK declines, what role can Christianity continue to play in our lives? Its foundational influence is undeniable, and non-believers can still appreciate Christian buildings, art, and charitable work, but the privileges still afforded to the Church of England are more controversial. The Church has modernised as society has changed, with women reaching the highest echelons of the episcopal hierarchy, but it has been accused of moving too slowly on some issues such as LGBT rights, and modernisation has not been without its critics within the Church itself. At the recent General Synod of Anglican leaders, the Archbishop of York remarked that the Church must not simply “manage decline gracefully” and that, should the Church die, it should have “a grand operatic death”. Is the decline of the Church really so terminal, what would such an operatic death entail, or can the decline be reversed?

This episode of Bright Blue TV is hosted by Communications Manager of Bright Blue, Joseph Silke. In this episode, he will be joined by the Rector at Great St Bartholomew’s church in the City of London, Fr Marcus Walker, the Chief Executive of Humanists UK, Andrew Copson, the Director of the Ozanne Foundation and the Global Interfaith Commission on LGBT Lives, Jayne Ozanne, and the freelance journalist and spiked columnist, Ella Whelan.