When people say that we live in a secular society, what does that really mean?

In this episode of Life & Faith, we explore the original meaning of secularism and track its development to the present day.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson kicks us off with a few reflections on what people really think about religion. Legal philosopher Iain Benson, whose writing on secularism has been cited by the highest courts in Canada and South Africa, explains the surprising origins of the secular state. And Craig Calhoun, an American sociologist who was until recently Director of the London School of Economics, offers us some snapshots of how secularism plays out in different contexts today.

Then, Charles Taylor, who essentially wrote the book on this topic - his 800-page magnum opus, A Secular Age - ties the threads together. He describes our modern secular age as one in which all people – from the most devout believer to the staunchest atheist – find themselves looking over the fence at one another’s belief systems.

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LISTEN to our interview with Marilynne Robinson: http://bit.ly/2gihnu2

Mark Leach’s life reads like the script of a blockbuster movie. There’s diamond smuggling, war and conflict, some romance, and a couple of major plot twists.

He was born in a village in Zambia, trained as a doctor in South Africa, and is now based in Sydney as an Anglican Minister, a business and leadership consultant, and a Board Member for International Justice Mission.

In this episode of Life & Faith, Mark fills us in on all the remarkable details of his early life, and why – in the face of his experience of evil and trauma – he holds fast to his Christian faith.

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More info about International Justice Mission: https://www.ijm.org

Gender and gender identity is one of the most fraught issues of our time. We run into gender stereotypes everywhere from nursery rhymes to department store catalogues, and much of our lives are ordered around the categories of male and female - school uniforms, bathrooms, and Olympic sporting events are just a few examples.

But there’s a group of people for whom none of this is straightforward - people who experience gender dysphoria, and identify as transgender.

In this episode of Life and Faith, we explore this topic with Australian sexologist Dr Patricia Weerakoon in the broader context of identity, sexuality, and culture. Plus, we speak with “Joan” about her experience of gender dysphoria and what it’s like to live as a transgender woman.

If these conversations raise questions for you, cause any distress, or if you want to talk to someone about the issues we’ve discussed, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or use their online chat service at www.lifeline.org.au

The relationship between religion and the media in the West has a long history. The first newspapers were often printed on the very same presses that were used to publish Bibles, and the first radio broadcast on Christmas Eve in 1906 included a reading from the Bible.

But times have certainly changed. If you look at the media landscape today, there’s not a lot of room for religion.

In this episode of Life & Faith, we’ve enlisted the help of a couple of experts to guide us through the world of religion in the media. First up, the former Religious Affairs Editor for The Age in Melbourne, Barney Zwartz, looks back on his time as a religion reporter and why he’s now a fierce advocate for good reporting on religion. Then, a former journalist for The New York Times, Ari Goldman, explains why he took a year off reporting to search for God – at Harvard.

“So much of religion is good, and we’re just constantly reporting on the religion that’s bad,” says Ari Goldman, “so what I try to do is tell the good religion story, without ignoring the bad one, but putting it all in perspective – and I think that’s our responsibility as journalists and as citizens, just to know the difference.”

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This month on Life & Faith, we’ve heard from experts and scholars about the influence of Christianity in the West. It’s all part of a sneak peek at our documentary due for release in 2017, For the Love of God: How the church is better and worse than you ever imagined.

In this episode, we tackle the question of how Christianity has played a role for better - and for worse - in the global practice of slavery. We ask the question, has Christianity been a friend or a foe of this terrible institution?

Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, explains:

“… [Christianity and Judaism] light a long fuse of argument and discovery which eventually explodes, and people realise, ‘actually, we should do something about this’. That’s how slavery is dealt with. In the Middle Ages you have the beginnings of a real theoretical assault on the notion of slavery.”

But this is not just an historical question. The “long fuse” extends to the present day, with more people in slavery today than at any point in human history - around 27 million people.

Rowan Williams is joined by philosopher and theologian David Bentley Hart, biblical scholar Iain Provan, and humanitarian Baroness Caroline Cox, as we unpack the influence of Christianity on the institution of slavery.

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In the second century,

There are echoes of

However, Christianity

“In its inception Christianity set before

“But at the same time it very quickly

In this episode, we’ll hear from Coakley

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“Religion is the cause of all wars.” This

One of the best-known episodes of violence

In this episode of Life & Faith, we speak

“The Crusades seem glamorous, they seem

In 2017, the Centre for Public Christianity

Some of the key ideas the documentary will

This month on Life & Faith, we’ll be showcasing

In this episode, we feature an interview

“[Christianity] hasn’t always been used on

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Nuclear fusion energy has been heralded asthe answer to the global energy crisis, a virtually endless – and cleaner –source of power that will last several generations.

If there’s anyone who should be singing itspraises the loudest, it’s Professor Ian Hutchinson from MIT, a leader in thisfield. While he’s certainly enthusiastic about the science and technologybehind fusion power, he’s quick to downplay the hype. 

“There is no magic bullet for energyresources for human kind, he says, “so I don’t want to promote fusion as aninstant solution to energy problems that exist.”

There’s still a lot of work to be done, hesays, namely, finding a stable environment on our planet at 100 million degreesCelsius for nuclear fusion to happen – and he’s right in the thick of it havingbuilt such an environment.

“It has the strongest magnetic field of anyexperiment and, I have to admit, starting up that experiment … was very much ahighlight of my scientific career.”

But as powerful as he knows science to be,as much as he finds it intellectually engaging and satisfying, ProfessorHutchinson also believes that science does not hold all the answers.

“Science works by being able to dorepeatable observations or experiments … and we’re find out about the ways in whichthe world behaves reproducibly,” he says. “But that doesn’t mean that that’sthe only thing to find out about the world.”

In this episode of Life & Faith,Professor Ian Hutchinson talks about the latest developments in nuclear energy,and the fusion of faith and science in his work and life.

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