The Reith Lectures

Reverend Dr Edward Norman, Dean of Peterhouse, Cambridge, considers the Christian situation in Africa in his fifth Reith lecture. Speaking from his series entitled 'Christianity and the World Order' Norman explores the politicisation of Christianity in specific areas of Africa. He investigates how political alignment of religion with politics is causing blurred boundaries between the two and asks how can acts of war be sanctified by religion?

Reverend Dr Edward Norman, Dean of Peterhouse, Cambridge, explores the imperialist perspective of Christianity in his fourth Reith lecture. Speaking from his series entitled 'Christianity and the World Order' Norman explores Christianity around the globe. He evaluates the way in which Western Christians view the Latin-American radical churches and believe that they are listening to the Christian word of the Third World. But are they really hearing from the oppressed and exploited majority of its society?

Reverend Dr Edward Norman, Dean of Peterhouse, Cambridge, reflects on the close relationship between Christianity and Western liberal ideals in his third Reith lecture. Speaking from his series entitled 'Christianity and the World Order' Norman reviews how civil rights have followed the paths of religious doctrines.There is no great dissimilarity between secular and religious outlooks on the moral question of human rights, but Reverend Norman asks, what happens when human rights violations happen under the authority of a Christian state?

Reverend Dr Edward Norman, Dean of Peterhouse, Cambridge, explores who the 'Ministers of Change' are in society in his second Reith lecture.Speaking from the series entitled 'Christianity and the World Order' Norman investigates the effect of the secular states' political values on Christianity. Christianity preaches love thy neighbour but do Christian countries follow their own doctrine? Reverend Norman considers the link between religion and politics by investigating the increased influence of The World Council of Churches in developing countries.

Reverend Dr Edward Norman, Dean of Peterhouse, Cambridge, discusses how and why faith has been transformed by political values in his first Reith lecture.Speaking from his series entitled 'Christianity and the World Order' Norman examines the authenticity of religion and considers its potential decay as it becomes progressively aligned with a secularised state. He explains that with the politicisation of Christianity, it is now essentially concerned with social morality rather than with the ethereal qualities of spirituality. Halsey questions what effect this has on the religion.

Sociologist A H Halsey is Professor of Social and Administrative studies at the University of Oxford. In his final lecture from his series 'Change in British Society', Halsey investigates the problem of fraternity in society. He argues that there are native traditions in social and political values which join people together. Yet, can social order in the shape of class, status and party affect these feelings of belonging? In this lecture entitled 'The Social Order', Professor Halsey explains how societies are made through cohesion in group interests, but Societies are also broken by arguments and competition. He analyses how the authoritative power of the state presides over its society.

Sociologist A H Halsey is Professor of Social and Administrative studies at the University of Oxford. In his fifth lecture from his series entitled 'Change in British Society', Halsey investigates the relation between the generations of the nuclear family and focuses in on the primordial link between parents and dependent children. In this lecture entitled 'Between the Generations', Professor Halsey explains how the family is the basic unit of our society. He analyses how it is a miniature reproduction of the social cells of class, of status and of culture. In examining the history of the collective memory of family, one is able to discover the changes of social structure in Britain.

Sociologist A H Halsey is Professor of Social and Administrative studies at the University of Oxford. He evaluates how the expansion of Britain's industrial and economic sectors changed the need for class and status for the fourth Reith lecture from his series entitled 'Change in British Society'.In this lecture entitled 'The Rise of Party', Professor Halsey follows the growth of organisation in relation to the changing structure of class and status in Britain and explains that the growth of companies, trade unions and eventually the Labour Party changed the face of the British society.

Sociologist A H Halsey is Professor of Social and Administrative studies at the University of Oxford. He explores the concept of Status in Society for his third Reith lecture from his series entitled 'Change in British Society'. In this lecture entitled 'The Reconstitution of Status', Professor Halsey looks at the theory of class and status in order to argue the importance of position and power in influencing social mobility. He investigates how class and status can either support or oppose each other and how persistent inequalities are less and less protected from challenge.

Sociologist A H Halsey is Professor of Social and Administrative studies at the University of Oxford. He explores the structures of class in Britain for his second Reith lecture from his series entitled 'Change in British Society'. In this lecture entitled 'Class-Ridden Prosperity', Professor A H Halsey explores how far inequality can be explained by status. He evaluates the ways in which power and advantage form the stratified system of 'Class' and asks the question, why is there still social inequality in this developed and wealthy nation?