In this time of deep change, it is vital to find ways of staying human, and to do so within a constructive story of spiritual and civic renewal. Politics is downstream of culture and so there is only so much governments can do - we are all called to play our part in building the common good.

In this episode, Luke Bretherton helps the churches to recover the memory of the commons, the God-shaped space where we discover what it means to be human together with others. Framing the challenges ahead within a Christian understanding of political economy, Luke sets out why forms of local association are vital, both as means of staying human, and as a way of resisting the domination of market and state.

Luke Bretherton is the Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Christ Church, Oxford, where he also directs the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Life. This appointment, which was approved by King Charles, also includes ordination – so Luke is a Canon of Christ Church Cathedral and has duties as a Church of England priest. Until recently Luke was the Robert E. Cushman Distinguished Professor of Moral and Political Theology at Duke University in the United States, and Visiting Professor at St Mellitus Theological College, London. He’s written many books, most recently A Primer in Christian Ethics and Christ and the Common Life. Alongside this, Luke draws on his long experience of community organising and from what he has learned from many collaborations with churches, charities and mission agencies.

To download the slides that accompany this talk, click here

To download the text of this talk, click here

This lecture was held on 19 February 2025 and is the first of our Staying Human Series. Introduced by Jenny Sinclair, founder director of Together for the Common Good, this event was held in partnership with CCLA.

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Listen to our sister podcast, Leaving Egypt, where we read the signs of the times and look to local stories of hope in these times of unravelling.

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