Chaired by Professor Elaine Graham

The early twentieth century saw a revival of interest in mysticism, promising a direct relationship with the divine. This was in the wake of challenges to traditional church dogma from science and biblical criticism, and as churchgoing definitively began to decline. And yet people still sought what the philosopher Bertrand Russell called “that quality of infinity”.  The resonances with our own ‘spiritual but not religious’ times are obvious. This lecture will explore that early twentieth-century revival of mysticism and its possibilities for today.

Jane Shaw is Principal of Harris Manchester College, Professor of the History of Religion and Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Oxford. She is the author of several books, including Miracles in Enlightenment England (Yale 2006), Octavia, Daughter of God: The Story of a Female Messiah and her Followers (Jonathan Cape 2011), Pioneers of Modern Spirituality (DLT 2018) and the co-authored Gen Z, Explained: The Art of Living in the Digital Age (U of Chicago 2021).  She reviews for the Financial Times and is on the editorial board of Prospect magazine.

This event is free and will be livestreamed on YouTube from 7.30pm on Thursday 23rd May.  Those watching live will be able to submit questions.  The lecture and following discussion will be available on the Modern Church YouTube channel for those catching up later.

Photo credit: Robert Taylor.