Holy Smoke

By: The Spectator
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  • Summary

  • The most important and controversial topics in world religion, thoroughly dissected by a range of high profile guests. Presented by Damian Thompson.
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Christianity Philosophy Social Sciences Spirituality
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Episodes
  • Welby resigns: crisis at the Church of England

    Welby resigns: crisis at the Church of England
    Nov 12 2024
    After mounting pressure, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has resigned. His resignation comes days after a damning report into the child abuser John Smyth who was associated with the Church of England. Welby was apparently made aware of the allegations in 2013, yet Smyth died in 2018 before facing any justice. Since the report was published, Welby and the Church have faced questions about the failure to act and the lack of urgency. The Spectator’s editor Michael Gove joins Damian Thompson to discuss what Damian calls ‘not just a shocking moment in the history of the Church of England, but in the history of English Christianity’.

    Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Natasha Feroze.
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    18 mins
  • Did Christianity create secular humanism?

    Did Christianity create secular humanism?
    Nov 8 2024
    Since the election of an overwhelmingly secular Labour government, people who describe themselves as humanists have a spring in their step: for example, there's a prospect that humanist weddings will be legally recognised in England and Wales (they already are in Scotland).

    But what exactly is a humanist? Definitions vary and there's a heated debate about to what extent the ethical but firmly atheist beliefs of the rather loosely organised modern humanist movement are descended from Christianity. In this episode of Holy Smoke we'll hear from Andrew Copson, CEO of Humanists UK since 2010 & President of Humanists International, and the theologian and Spectator contributor Theo Hobson, author of God created Humanism: the Christian Basis of Secular Values. Damian Thompson spoke to them earlier and, as you'll hear, it was a lively encounter.

    Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
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    33 mins
  • Sale of the century: why is the Kirk selling off hundreds of churches so cheaply?

    Sale of the century: why is the Kirk selling off hundreds of churches so cheaply?
    Oct 25 2024
    In this week’s Spectator, William Finlater reveals that some of the Church of Scotland’s most precious architectural heritage is being flogged off quickly, cheaply and discreetly. Most western denominations are being forced to close churches, but the fire sale of hundreds of Scottish churches is unprecedented in British history. In this episode of Holy Smoke, Damian talks to William about the Kirk’s apparently panicky reaction to losing half its members since 2000, and asks new Spectator editor Michael Gove – once a Church of Scotland Sunday School teacher – why his former denomination is staring into the abyss.

    Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.
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    27 mins

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