Theos - In the news

Credo: Cathedrals are for everyone and they need our support

george.lapshynov@theosthinktank.co.uk (George Lapshynov) — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 16:51:00 +0000

George Lapshynov writes for the Times on the importance of cathedrals. 20/06/2026

Researcher and co–author of our latest report on cathedrals, George Lapshynov, unpacks the significance of cathedrals on civic life for The Times’ Credo column.

Read the full piece here.

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Living Stones on BBC Radio Merseyside

hello@theosthinktank.co.uk (George Lapshynov and Nathan Mladin) — Mon, 25 May 2026 10:52:00 +0000

Host Joe Wilson discusses our ‘Living Stones’ report with Interim Dean of Carlisle Cathedral, Michael Everitt. 24/05/2026

Catch the discussion about our report Living Stones: English Cathedrals as Sacred Spaces in Changing Times from 8:08am.

Tune in here.

Theos report celebrates ministry of England's cathedrals — but highlights financial 'perma-crisis'

hello@theosthinktank.co.uk (George Lapshynov and Nathan Mladin) — Mon, 18 May 2026 00:13:00 +0000

Research identifies ‘warm but passive’ attachment of general public. 18/05/2026

Madeleine Davies unpacks our latest report Living Stones: English cathedrals as sacred spaces in changing times for the Church Times.

Read it here.

Is there intelligent life out there?

nick.spencer@theosthinktank.co.uk (Nick Spencer) — Fri, 15 May 2026 16:28:00 +0000

The discovery of aliens would not render faith ridiculous, writes Nick Spencer. 15/05/2026

“I like a moon mission as much as the next man, but even I thought the coverage of Artemis’s recent lunar trip was a bit excessive. Don’t misunderstand me. I am in awe of the physical, emotional, and technical strengths of astronauts who endure conditions that would reduce me to jelly. But I was also aware of how the coverage was essentially an antidote to all our other, somewhat grimmer, sublunary news.”

Nick Spencer writes on the possibility of alien life and its theological implications for the Church Times.

One foot in the graveyard

madeleine.pennington@theosthinktank.co.uk (Madeleine Pennington) — Tue, 12 May 2026 16:07:00 +0000

Dr Madeleine Pennington appears on BBC Radio 4’s Beyond Belief. 12/05/2026

Giles Fraser digs deep into graveyards and asks how we remember those we have loved and lost. He meets Johanna Holmes OBE, Chair of the Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery, to discover this graveyard’s hidden secrets.

He’s joined by Dr Madeleine Pennington, Head of Research at the religious think tank Theos and author of their 2023 report Love, Grief and Hope – emotional responses to death and dying in the UK, Glasgow–based author, journalist and blogger Peter Ross, author of ‘A Tomb With a View: The Stories and Glories of Graveyards’ and Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg.

Listen to Madeleine here.

More than merely a 'vibe shift'?

hello@theosthinktank.co.uk (Chine McDonald) — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:54:00 +0000

Chine McDonald analyses the claims that young people are showing a renewed interest in spirituality. 17/04/2026

From the boxing ring to The Traitors, something has shifted. We’re seeing a renewed interest in faith and spirituality, particularly amongst young people.

Chine McDonald analyses the claims for the Church Times.

Read the full article here.

Why Gen-Z turned back to Christianity

esme.partridge@theosthinktank.co.uk (Esmé Partridge) — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 10:07:00 +0000

Researcher, Esmé Partridge, was quoted in The Spectator about her research on Gen Z Christians. 30/03/2026

Similar patterns have been seen by Esmé Partridge, a researcher at the Christian think tank Theos who is currently studying new churchgoing patterns among young adults for the Church of England.

“In my research,” said Partridge, “I’ve been able to speak to over thirty young people who have recently started attending church. Naturally there are whole variety of positive influences that have personally led them there – social media, discovering Christian authors like C. S. Lewis, even learning about other world religions – but perhaps the reason these explorations are occurring now rather that say, ten years ago, is because of the absence of hostility towards Christianity in mainstream culture and the breaking down of barriers that once closed it off as an area of spiritual exploration. We’ve moved beyond both the Boomer rebellion against religion and the New Atheism of the early 2010s – today’s climate is one of curiosity and openness.”

Read the full article by Bijan Omrani in The Spectator here.

Prayers by Muslims in public are not a threat

hannah.rich@theosthinktank.co.uk (Hannah Rich) — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 10:17:00 +0000

Freedom of religion and belief extends to all faiths and none, or it is meaningless, argues Hannah Rich. 27/03/2026

Senior Researcher, Hannah Rich, writes for the Church Times responding to Nick Timothy MP’s comments on Muslims breaking their Ramadan fast with an iftar meal and call to prayer in Trafalgar Square.

Read the full article here.

Techno-Nihilism and the Human Stakes of AI

nathan.mladin@theosthinktank.co.uk (Nathan Mladin) — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 09:24:00 +0000

What if the so–called “AI doomers” are right? Watch Nathan Mladin’s research seminar for The Faraday Institute. 10/03/2026

What if the so–called “AI doomers” are right, just not in the way they imagine?

In this lecture at The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, Dr Nathan Mladin suggests AI existential risk discourse is best read as a form of secular apocalyptic literature, and argues that the deeper threat it unveils is anthropological: AI is entrenching a diminished, shrunken view of what it means to be human. We expect more and more of machines and think less and less of ourselves – anthropological pessimism and idolatrous faith in technology feeding off each other in a condition he calls “techno–nihilism”. Reclaiming richer visions of what it means to be human, and to flourish, he argues, is now an urgent task.

Faith and Education

hannah.rich@theosthinktank.co.uk (Hannah Rich) — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 10:27:00 +0000

Hannah Rich speaks on the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life’s event on Faith in Education. 04/03/2026

The Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life hosted an online panel discussion which convened professionals, researchers and specialists in religious education (RE) to talk about the continuing importance and relevance of the subject in Britain. The discussion covered topics including what skills students gain from RE that they might not from other subjects on the curriculum, the value of religious literacy, and what good RE looks like.

Senior researcher, Hannah Rich, features on the panel alongside Alexis Stones (Senior teaching fellow, PGCE & MA Religious Education at University College London), and Dr Kathryn Wright (Chief Executive at Culham St Gabriel’s Trust). The discussion was moderated by presenter and broadcaster Rae Duke.

Interested in worldviews and education? Watch our film ‘Nobody Stands Nowhere’ here.

The New Dark Age: Why liberals must win the culture wars by Nigel Biggar

nick.spencer@theosthinktank.co.uk (Nick Spencer) — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 10:17:00 +0000

Nick Spencer reviews ‘The New Dark Age’ by Nigel Biggar for the Church Times. 13/02/2026

”The New Dark Age, which, although short, bristles with examples of academic vices and institutional weaknesses.”

Nick Spencer reviews ‘The New Dark Age: Why liberals must win the culture wars’ by Nigel Biggar for the Church Times.

Read it here.

Bible-reading = mass literacy?

nick.spencer@theosthinktank.co.uk (Nick Spencer) — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 09:22:00 +0000

Nick Spencer unpacks the relationship between Bible–reading and mass literacy for the Church Times. 06/02/2026

”In our ever spiralling, splenetic, and spiteful culture wars, there is at least one thing on which we can all agree, whether we be woke Liberal or gammon Reform: reading is good for you.”

Nick Spencer unpacks the relationship between Bible–reading and mass literacy for the Church Times.

Read it here.

Have young men lost their 'herd immunity' to Christianity?

hello@theosthinktank.co.uk (The Theos Team) — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 12:39:00 +0000

Nick Spencer and Rob Barward–Symmons feature in the Times. 16/01/2026

Nick Spencer and Rob Barward–Symmons were quoted in the Times commenting on whether Gen Z men are becoming increasingly warm towards Christianity.

Read the article here.

Tommy Robinson says he found Jesus in prison. Churches disagree about how to respond

nick.spencer@theosthinktank.co.uk (Nick Spencer) — Sun, 28 Dec 2025 11:57:00 +0000

Nick Spencer was quoted in the Guardian concerning the CofE response to far–right Christianity. 28/12/2025

In January, C of E bishops will discuss the church’s response to Christian nationalism and the far right at one of their regular meetings. Nick Spencer, a senior fellow at the Christian thinktank Theos, who is embarking on a two–year study of Christian nationalism, said the C of E faced a genuine dilemma. If it embraced rightwing activists proclaiming newfound Christianity, it would “get its head kicked in”; if it slammed the door in their face, it would be “missionally–speaking a catastrophe”.

The church is “damned if they do, damned if they don’t”, he said. “I don’t think it can remain silent, but its response risks underlining the narrative that the C of E is only for the comfortable middle–class.”

You can read the full article in the Guardian here.

The Mystery of Britain's Orthobros: Why are young men flocking to the Eastern Church?

george.lapshynov@theosthinktank.co.uk (George Lapshynov) — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 12:31:00 +0000

Researcher George Lapshynov was quoted in UnHerd article unpacking the increased popularity of Eastern Orthodoxy amongst young men. 26/12/2025

Lapshynov points out that this can leave them exposed. “Most Orthodox priests don’t have an online presence,” he tells me, “which creates a vacuum into which less official voices can enter. That means the [online] space is saturated with people not eligible to preach.” More often than not, that space is filled by the Orthobro.

Read the full article in UnHerd here.

Why we find comfort in rituals wherever we are

hello@theosthinktank.co.uk (Chine McDonald) — Thu, 25 Dec 2025 12:25:00 +0000

Chine McDonald writes for the Financial Times on the surprising places we find spiritual practices. 25/12/2025

Read the Financial Times article by Director, Chine McDonald here.

Why are Gen Z at church this Christmas?

esme.partridge@theosthinktank.co.uk (Esmé Partridge) — Wed, 24 Dec 2025 11:51:00 +0000

Esmé Partridge discusses The Quiet Revival for Times Radio. 24/12/2025

Esmé Partridge appears on Times Radio alongside the Bishop of Winchester discussing the rise of Gen–Z church attendance over Christmas and what could be behind it.

Listen back here.

"Put the Christ back in Christmas"

nick.spencer@theosthinktank.co.uk (Nick Spencer) — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 12:53:00 +0000

Nick Spencer appears on BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme discussing the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ carol concert. 14/12/2025

“Put the Christ back in Christmas” was the title of the carol concert organised by Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom in central London yesterday. We hear from one of the organisers, Pastor Rikki Doolan, and from Nick Spencer, senior fellow at the Christian think tank Theos, who is studying the rise of Christian Nationalism in the UK.

Listen to the segment on BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme here from 31:45.

Religious education beyond the classroom can promote empathy and community cohesion

hannah.rich@theosthinktank.co.uk (Hannah Rich) — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 12:53:00 +0000

Our report by Hannah Rich, ‘Beyond the Classroom’, was featured in the Tablet. 17/11/2025

The think tank Theos, which researches the relationship between religion and society in the contemporary world, has called for religious education to be encouraged and facilitated “in a far broader range of contexts than just the classroom”.

Aili Winstanley Channer unpacks our latest report Beyond the Classroom for the Tablet.

Read it here.

AI and All Souls Day

nathan.mladin@theosthinktank.co.uk (Nathan Mladin) — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 07:50:00 +0000

Nathan Mladin speaks on BBC Radio Ulster’s Everyday Ethics on AI and the Afterlife. 02/11/2025

Grief bots and avatars promise to preserve our loved ones from beyond the grave.

Dr Nathan Mladin appears alongside Dr Elaine Storkey and Professor Victoria Haneman discussing the ethical concerns of grief–tech. Nathan draws upon his report AI and the Afterlife.

Tune in here.

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to find out how you can help our work.

Shattering the Stained Glass Ceiling: Women in Faith Leadership

hello@theosthinktank.co.uk (Chine McDonald) — Sun, 26 Oct 2025 16:55:00 +0000

Chine McDonald speaks discusses the challenges surrounding being a woman in faith leadership. 26/10/2025

Have women shattered the glass ceiling of faith leadership?

Chine McDonald appears alongside the Very Reverend Dr Sarah Rowland Jones, and Zara Mohammed discussing the challenges of leadership in faith traditions on BBC Radio Wales’ ‘All Things Considered’.

Tune in here.

The Status of Science

nick.spencer@theosthinktank.co.uk (Nick Spencer) — Fri, 10 Oct 2025 08:32:00 +0000

Nick Spencer appears on the panel for BBC Radio 4’s Free Thinking. 10/10/2025

Rapid developments in science are leading to ethical dilemmas that scientists alone can’t answer. Where does that leave their authority?

Nick Spencer appears on BBC Radio 4’s Free Thinking alongside Dafydd Mills Daniel, Dr Sandra Knapp, and Hannah Devlin discussing the status of science.

Tune in here.

New Archbishop of Canterbury will face old evils

hello@theosthinktank.co.uk (Chine McDonald) — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 09:06:00 +0000

Chine McDonald unpacks the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for Sarah Mullally, the new Archbishop of Canterbury designate. 06/10/2025

She may have shattered a stained glass ceiling but she will experience the same challenges as other female leaders.

Read the article in the Financial Times here.

I know my MP, but who is my local vicar?

hello@theosthinktank.co.uk (Chine McDonald) — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 11:58:00 +0000

Theos and YouGov survey reveals that many voters are disconnected from media and local communities. 01/10/2025

A survey has revealed that less than a quarter of us (21%) know the name of a local faith leader. The poll by YouGov, commissioned by Theos, the religion and society think tank, suggests that when it comes to the drivers of social cohesion, everyday people are not turning towards the figures and places at the traditional centre of local communities.

Although most people (58%) said that they can name their local MP, less than a quarter (23%) know the name of their regional or local mayor. Three–quarters (75%) of all respondents said that they couldn’t name a local faith leader of any religion, and only 5% could name a local police officer. Less than half of all respondents have visited a local library in the last year (48%), and more than two–thirds (67%) of adults between 25–64 years of age say they had not visited any place of worship in the past twelve months. In fact more people have visited a local park in the last seven days (36%) than have visited a local place of worship in the last year (30%).

All respondents were far more likely to put their trust in friends and family (84%), and in their neighbours (63%) for accurate information. 86% of those polled said they know their next–door neighbour by name, and almost half (47%) have visited their neighbour’s house in the past twelve months.

When asked which features make them feel most connected to their local community, relationship with neighbours (38%), safety (37%) and visiting public spaces (31%) were top of the list, while shared faith mattered to just 4% of respondents.

Respondents were also asked what contribution faith groups make to local communities. More than a third of those who were polled said that faith communities have no real impact at all on the unemployed (35%), or on local (36%) or regional (38%) government. Only 8% believe that the overall contribution faith groups make to the life of the community is negative, but more than half (55%) say that they don’t know what contribution they make, or that it is neither good nor bad.

The research was conducted in preparation for the annual Theos Lecture at 7pm on Thursday, 9 October. In this year’s lecture, the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham will discuss the importance of faith–based and other community organisations in fostering hope, health and human connection. And he’ll reveal the critical role they are set to play in the next chapter of English devolution, as Greater Manchester works to deliver support for people in true partnership with the local organisations they know and trust.

Chine McDonald, the Director of Theos, said: “Building strong communities depends on trust, and trust is built on communication. Mayor Andy Burnham believes that people of faith can have a significant role to play in building communities and shaping devolved democracy.

“Indeed, faith groups up and down the country are making a significant contribution in many ways: feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, and helping free people from debt. But my reading of this survey data is that a strikingly high number of local residents are not aware of these contributions. This is particularly pertinent when we are seeing an increase in conversations about the role of religion in shaping politics and the nation. At a time of potential societal fracture, this is an encouragement for faith communities to step up, speak up, and increase their visibility beyond the church walls, showing the difference faith can make to social cohesion and building a better world for all.”

You can find the data tables here.

Interested in this? Share it on social media.

Join our monthly e–newsletter to keep up to date with our latest research and events. And check out our Supporter Programme to find out how you can help our work.

Faith versus Fear

george.lapshynov@theosthinktank.co.uk (George Lapshynov) — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 15:41:00 +0000

George Lapshynov appears on Beyond Belief discussing moral and theological tensions surrounding immigration. 23/09/2025

Giles Fraser delves into the moral and theological tensions surrounding immigration, asking whether Christian faith leads to exclusion or radical inclusion.

British politician and prominent catholic Ann Widdecombe opens with a candid reflection on the limits of national capacity and the need for fair rules, citing scripture to support her belief in prioritizing care for one’s family and community. The discussion broadens with insights from Journalist & Historian Tim Stanley, human rights advocate Yasmin Halima, and Theos researcher George Lapshynov, who presents data showing non–practicing Christians are more hostile toward immigration than the general public. The panel explores the biblical imperative to welcome the stranger, the concept of “ordered love” from Saint Augustine, and the practical challenges of balancing compassion with security. Author and activist Onjali Raúf adds a deeply personal lens, highlighting the human cost of displacement and the rhetoric that dehumanizes refugees.

George draws from our Religion Counts and From Strangers to Neighbours research.

Listen to the episode on BBC Sounds here.