{"podcast":{"title":"Academy of Ideas","slug":"academy-of-ideas-740460","podcast_index_feed_id":740460,"rss_url":"https://InstituteofIdeas1.podbean.com/feed.xml","website_url":"https://InstituteofIdeas1.podbean.com","image_url":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/688090/Academy_of_Ideas_logo_square_1400.jpg","author":"academyofideas","episode_count":415,"summary":"The Academy of Ideas has been organising public debates to challenge contemporary knee-jerk orthodoxies since 2000. Subscribe to our channel for recordings of our live conferences, discussions and salons, and find out more at www.academyofideas.org.uk","last_synced_at":"2026-07-11T00:18:42.961222+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/academy-of-ideas-740460"},"episode":{"title":"Religious fervour: the rise of faith or Cultural Christianity?","slug":"religious-fervour-the-rise-of-faith-or-cultural-christianity","published_at":"2026-06-25T08:55:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/academy-of-ideas-740460/religious-fervour-the-rise-of-faith-or-cultural-christianity","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/academy-of-ideas-740460","url":"https://InstituteofIdeas1.podbean.com/e/religious-fervour-the-rise-of-faith-or-cultural-christianity/","audio_url":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/7i6dj65r6cfh7qqc/5_Religious_fervour_the_rise_of_faith_or_cultural_Christianity-esv2-50p-bg-10p-music-83p-v26taix.mp3","summary":"Lots of people are converting to Christianity and, across the country, church attendance is increasing. While the numbers vary, one survey shows the number of people attending church at least once a month is up from eight per cent in 2018 to 12 per cent in 2024. Perhaps most notably, the survey shows a quadrupling of attendance among Gen Zers, aged 18 to 24, from four per cent to 16 per cent. The story of modern society has often been told as a rise of secularism and atheism, but after the peak of new atheism in the early 2010s, trends are now reversing. From sold-out events on faith with musician Nick Cave and historian Tom Holland to a swath of new books on the place of god in society, there is public appetite for grappling with religion. Some argue that this is a ‘quiet revival’ driven mainly by changing perceptions of religion and a collective search for meaning in modern societies that are increasingly individualistic and atomised. Others point to public figures like Jordan Peterson and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, for whom Christianity is part of a larger project to save Western civilisation. Others still argue that there is something distinct and more therapeutic about modern forms of Christian worship – more focused on introspection and personal development than community and morality. Some believers are uneasy about these more pragmatic justifications for faith. What is the driving force of the resurgence of Christianity? Is this emerging Christianity different from its traditional forms? Is the Christian revival political, or are people searching for meaning? Are we seeing a rise of true faith, or merely cultural Christianity? Is there a difference? SPEAKERSDolan Cummingswriter and novelist; co-director, Manifesto Club Pamela Dowchief operating officer, Civic Future Simo…","meta_description":"Lots of people are converting to Christianity and, across the country, church attendance is increasing. While the numbers vary, one survey shows the numbe…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":5578,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/academy-of-ideas-740460/episodes/religious-fervour-the-rise-of-faith-or-cultural-christianity/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/academy-of-ideas-740460/religious-fervour-the-rise-of-faith-or-cultural-christianity.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}