Elizabeth Oldfield: Is God Back? What might the ancient wisdom of Christianity offer for today's turbulent times?

This year we welcome Elizabeth Oldfield, a writer, speaker, and podcast host who works at the intersection of faith, culture and public life. She previously spent a decade as Director of Theos, the UK’s leading religion and society think tank, and now hosts The Sacred, a podcast exploring the deepest values of public figures and how those values shape our common life.

When the times are turbulent, we need wisdom. We look back to see how humans have survived and even sometimes thrived through more turbulent times than ours. This may be partly driving what looks like an increased willingness, especially amongst young people, to look for wisdom in a potentially unlikely place: religion.  In this lecture, Elizbeth Oldfield unpacks why, somewhat to her surprise, there may be much wisdom for these times to be found in the ancient practices of Christianity. This event will explore how, whether you feel drawn to its metaphysical claims or not, this tradition might hold tools and spiritual technologies to help us navigate whatever is coming next.

Elizabeth Oldfield spent the first part of her career working across the BBC in television and radio, contributing to programmes including Beyond Belief and the Moral Maze, as well as Radio 3 and 4 documentaries. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, BBC One, Sky News, The Times, the Financial Times and many more. 

Her book Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times has explores what it means to live a meaningful, grounded life amid distraction, outrage and polarisation.

Doors open 5:45 pm, the lecture will begin at 6:00pm.

Following the lecture there will be a time of Q&A with the speaker. We also invite guests to a reception afterwards at the Chaplaincy Gatehouse, beginning at 7:30pm.

This event is hosted by the Chaplaincy to the University of Leicester, and is part of The Bishop of Leicester's lecture series, offering a Christian perspective on important issues of our day. It is funded by a legacy donation from the late Rev Derek Hole.