McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics & Public Life Podcast

About McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics & Public Life Podcast

Welcome to the podcast of the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Life at the University of Oxford. It features discussions and talks from the Centre that explore how different religious and philosophical traditions, particularly Christianity, imagine the human person, how those visions shape public life, and what resources moral and political theology offers for addressing the most pressing existential challenges and questions of our time. We hope these recordings will introduce you to the Centre's work and invite you into these vital and important conversations.

Publisher

Luke Bretherton

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

17 Jun 2026

Latest episode

2 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

8 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Sept 2026

   Roundtable discussion of Religious Humanisms

   A roundtable discussion of the problems, questions, and possibilities of religious humanisms as a frame of reference for addressing contemporary moral and political questions. Panelists are: Luke Bretherton (Chair); Slavica Jakelic; Randi Rashkover; Eric Gregory; Joshua Hordern; Aaron Stalnaker and Chammah Kaunda. The discussion includes Q&A from a live audience.

2. 

   1 Sept 2026

   Joshua Hordern, ‘Diagnosing Medical Humanities: Conscience, Christus Medicus and Common Life in a Fractured World'

   This lecture examines the significance of medical humanities for a renewed interest in humanism. As an aspect of public culture, in universities and in healthcare, this complex of cross-disciplinary work aims to offer humane learning and educational formation in health-related settings wherein common humanity may be encountered and illuminated or, conversely, marginalised and occluded. The argument proceeds in the following sections: (I) an evaluation of some critiques of medical humanities a...

3. 

   1 Sept 2026

   Ufuk Topkara, ‘Reading theTheology of the Other: Engaging with Hermann Cohen's "Religion of Reason" from an Islamic Perspective’

4. 

   1 Sept 2026

   Aaron Stalnaker, ’Two Contemporary Approaches to Confucian Religious Humanism: Tu Weiming and Li Zehou’

   This lecture presents two snapshots of contemporary Confucian humanism, one presented as religious, and one eschewing that label. “Humanism,” or its modern Chinese equivalents (usually réndào zhǔyì—the “doctrine of the human way”—but sometimes renwen zhuyi —the “doctrine of human culture”), is very much a living and productive category of thought for contemporary Chinese intellectuals, with deep and resonant cultural roots in Chinese traditions. But what exactly it amounts to is far from...

5. 

   1 Sept 2026

   Chammah Kaunda: ‘Pneumatological Plasticity and African Humanism’

   This lecture argues for a Pentecostal pneumatological humanism grounded in a personhood shaped by the Spirit. It maintains that human flourishing cannot be understood as merely autonomous expansion of human capacities or the pursuit of ever-increasing possibilities, but as participation in Christ through the Spirit. The Spirit in creation draws humanity and creation beyond the limits of self-grounded and self-sufficiency toward shared life and communion with God. Thus, against accounts of hum...

6. 

   25 Jul 2026

   Randi Rashkover, ‘Judaism, Humanism and Inquiry’

7. 

   22 Jul 2026

   Eric Gregory, "Christian Humanism as Theological Proclamation"

8. 

   17 Jun 2026

   Slavica Jakelic: "Religious & Secular Humanisms: Politics Beyond Power"

   This episode is the first lecture from the McDonald Centre "Reimagining Humanism: Religious Humanisms as Frameworks for Building Common Life in a Fractured World" conference held at the University of Oxford, 11-13th June 2026.