“The Eclipse of Christianity and Why It Matters” – 7pm

Rupert Shortt in conversation with Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

17 September 2024

7.00pm

Holy Trinity Sloane Square

Book Tickets

Join us at Holy Trinity Church Sloane Square for a conversation with Rupert Shortt and Ayaan Hirsi Ali about Rupert’s new book “The Eclipse if Christianity and Why it Matters”.

There will be a talk by Rupert Shortt followed by a moderated conversation with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a chance for audience questions and the opportunity to buy the book and have it signed by Rupert.

'Lucid, Brilliant, accessible. A must read'

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

The mainstream Churches are faltering – or even at risk of dying out – in their Western and Middle Eastern heartlands. Surveys confirm that only a minority of people in a country such as Britain now claim Christian allegiance. The pattern is being matched in neighbouring societies.

At the same time many opinion formers preach secularist ideology with a self-confidence shading into dogmatism. Others, unsure of their moorings, feel some residual attachment to spirituality, while being sceptical about the existence of God and other articles of belief.

Yet church teaching remains intellectually robust, as well as inspiring a transformative global presence. In this major and wide-ranging international study – both a report on the unsettling consequences of secularisation and a defence of a creed too often belittled by its opponents – Rupert Shortt outlines Christianity’s fading profile in the present, but also argues compellingly that Europe’s historic faith remains critical to the survival of a humane culture.

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