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Holy Smoke

The most important and controversial topics in world religion, thoroughly dissected by a range of high profile guests. Presented by Damian Thompson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

religion & spirituality religion

All Episodes

18:03

Is the cult of St Edward the Confessor justified?

Holy Smoke ·

2025/10/30

October marks the month of Edwardtide – a series of celebrations commemorating St Edward the Confessor, the King that ruled England in the 11th century for over two decades. Nowadays, he is remembered for three reasons: as one of the last Anglo-Saxon monarchs, for commissioning Westminster Abbey and for being the only English King canonised by a Pope. But does the historical record justify the cult of St Edward? Professor Tom Licence from the University of East Anglia joins Damian Thompson to

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26:25

Is the Anglican Communion dead?

Holy Smoke ·

2025/10/21

In the space of a month, the Church of England has acquired its first female Archbishop of Canterbury, a majority of the world’s Anglicans have left the Anglican Communion in protest at the mother Church’s willingness to bless same-sex relationships – and the House of Bishops has suddenly backed away from introducing stand-alone gay blessings. The situation is chaotic. In this week’s Holy Smoke, theologian Andrew Graystone talks to Damian Thompson about the almost insoluble problems that will face

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38:06

How did faith shape Thatcher?

Holy Smoke ·

2025/10/19

How did faith shape Margaret Thatcher’s politics? To mark the centenary month of Margaret Thatcher’s birth, Damian Thompson introduces a conversation between the Spectator’s Natasha Feroze, Thatcher’s biographer Lord Moore and Bishop Chartres who delivered the eulogy at her funeral.They discuss her relationship with faith, how both her family background and her training as a scientist influenced her beliefs and her understanding of the relationship between wealth and society based on Jesus’s

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33:17

What does it mean 'to forgive'?

Holy Smoke ·

2025/10/12

The announcement by Erika Kirk – the widow of assassinated political activist Charlie Kirk – that she forgave her husband's killer, has led many to question the nature of Christian forgiveness. Granting forgiveness can seem hard for the smallest of crimes, let alone the murder of a close family member, so how can other people follow Erika's example? One person who sadly knows better than most is Professor Everett Worthington. Prof. Worthington is Professor Emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth

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18:21

What can we expect from the first female Archbishop...

Holy Smoke ·

2025/10/03

Dame Sarah Mullally has been announced as the new Archbishop of Canterbury. Previously the Bishop of London, she becomes the first woman to lead the Church in its almost 500 year history. She also had a 40 year career as a professional nurse, rising to be the most senior nurse in England and Wales. The Rev'd Marcus Walker, rector at St Bartholemew the Great in the City of London, joins Damian Thompson to react to the news – what can we expect from her leadership?Produced by Patrick Gibbons.Become a

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18:53

Reparations: the tyranny of imaginary guilt, with...

Holy Smoke ·

2025/09/25

The past few years have seen growing calls for countries in the global west to pay reparations to former colonies for their role in the transatlantic slave trade. The debate over reparations was already part of the so-called ‘culture wars’, but became louder following the Black Lives Matter movement, as many groups sought to re-examine their histories. Calls for reparations have been embraced by the Church of England which set up a £100 million fund, with the aim of raising £1 billion, to pay

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25:28

800 years on, why is Aquinas Gen Z’s favourite...

Holy Smoke ·

2025/09/19

This year marks 800 years since the birth of the theologian St Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas, best known for his theory of natural law and his magnum opus the Summa Theologia, argued for the existence of God through faith-based reason. The influence of the 13th Century theologian on the philosophy of religion is unquestionable, but what is curious is his resurgent popularity amongst Generation Z – particularly in America. Is this part of the recovery of the sacred seen across the global west?Fr Gregory

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21:47

Archbishop of Canterbury: who's on the shortlist?

Holy Smoke ·

2025/09/12

It is 10 months since the resignation of Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury. Now, finally, the Crown Nominations Commission is believed to have drawn up a shortlist of candidates, and a successor to Welby could be approved by October.Theologian and author Andrew Graystone joins Damian Thompson to talk through what he calls ‘a weak list’ of potential candidates – weak because there are no obvious frontrunners and the Commission is choosing between ‘half a dozen equals’.These range from the more

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36:41

Why the canonisation of the first millennial saint is...

Holy Smoke ·

2025/09/06

On Sunday the Catholic Church will acquire its first millennial saint, when Pope Leo XIV canonises someone who, if he were alive today, would be young enough to be his son.Carlo Acutis, a ‘computer geek’ from a prosperous Italian family,died aged just 15 in 2006. In this episode of Holy Smoke, Damian Thompson talks to Mgr Anthony Figueiredo and the Italian-based journalist Nicholas Farrell about the extraordinary phenomenon of St Carlo, the miracles associated with him – and the scepticism they

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39:53

Which are the 'Twelve Churches' that made Christianity?

Holy Smoke ·

2025/08/28

What links the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and St Peter's in Rome with the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and Canaanland in Ota, Nigeria? These are just some of the churches that Anglican priest and writer the Revd Fergus Butler-Gallie highlights in his new bookTwelve Churches: An Unlikely History of the Buildings that made Christianity. The Anglican priest and writer joins Damian Thompson on Holy Smoke to explain how each Church not only tells a story but also raises a

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27:00

From the Bible to Tolkien: the risks & rewards of...

Holy Smoke ·

2025/08/15

The Bible is widely said to be the most published book of all time. Despite this, many older versions of the Bible are still sought after. This is because, as Tom Ayling tells Damian Thompson on this episode of Holy Smoke, there is a great deal of diversity amongst the editions precisely because it has been so widely published. Tom, a young antiquarian bookseller who set up his own business, joins the podcast to talk about the risks and rewards behind collecting rare books.Tom explains why, for him,

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30:41

How has John Henry Newman inspired Pope Leo XIV?

Holy Smoke ·

2025/08/08

St John Henry Newman (1801-90) is perhaps the most influential theologian in the history of English Christianity. Yet, as Damian Thompson discusses with Fr Rod Strange – one of the world’s leading authorities on Newman – he was a divisive figure, though perhaps not in the way one might imagine. One of the founders of the Oxford Movement, Newman was widely acknowledged as the most gifted intellectual in the Church of England. In 1845 he converted to Rome and was eventually made a cardinal. Thus he

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27:25

Massacres in Syria & the Congo: why aren't Western...

Holy Smoke ·

2025/07/31

Afterthe fall of the Assad regime in Syria, many people voiced fears that the religious minorities in the country could face increased persecution. This could be at the hands of the new government’s supporters, or simply because the new regime can't protect them. Now those fears appear to have been realised. There is rising sectarian violence against Christians, the Alawites and the Druze (pictured). There are also frequent barbaric attacks on Christians in parts of Africa: more than 40 Christians

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1:15:18

Recovering the Sacred with Michael Gove, Revd Marcus...

Holy Smoke ·

2025/07/14

Last week The Spectator held a live event entitled ‘Recovering the Sacred’ in the glorious surroundings of St Bartholomew the Great, the oldest parish church in the City of London.The speakers included two London parish priests – one Anglican, one Catholic – who have contributed much to the growing interest among young people in traditional liturgy and Christian theology, a development that the hierarchy of their respective churches certainly didn’t foresee.They were the Rev Marcus Walker, Rector of

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12:50

It’s time for Pope Leo XIV to make some tough decisions

Holy Smoke ·

2025/07/01

Nearly everyone loves Robert Prevost, the unassuming baseball fan from Chicago who unexpectedly became Pope Leo XIV this year. But as he prepares to spend his summer in Castel Gandolfo he has some difficult decisions to make. Is he prepared to clear up all the doctrinal confusion created by his predecessor Pope Francis? And will he allow liberal bishop to continue to persecute Catholics who prefer the ancient Latin form of Mass?Damian Thompson gives us his thoughts in advance of Recovering the

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41:18

Why are young Christians returning to tradition?

Holy Smoke ·

2025/06/18

Today’s Holy Smoke is a curtain-raiser for ‘Recovering the Sacred’, a Spectator event at St Bartholow-the-Great in the City of London in which a panel of experts will explore the rediscovery of traditional worship and theology by young Anglicans and Catholics.The event will be held on Tuesday 8th July; for more details, and to book tickets, go to: spectator.co.uk/churchIn today’s episode Damian Thompson talks to Anglican James Vitali and Catholic Georgia Clarke, two Generation Z professionals

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51:50

A Jewish guide to arguing

Holy Smoke ·

2025/06/10

Daniel Taub, former Israeli Ambassador to the UK, joins Damian Thompson to talk about his new bookBeyond Dispute: Rediscovering the Jewish art of constructive disagreement. In a fast-moving interview, Daniel explains how the art of arguing has shaped Jewish humour and scholarship, and Damian asks him about keeping kosher, life after death – and the influence of the Talmud onCurb Your Enthusiasm.Produced by Patrick Gibbons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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31:52

Is God an Englishman?

Holy Smoke ·

2025/06/01

Bijan Omrani joins Damian Thompson to talk about his new bookGod is an Englishman: Christianity and the Creation of England. They discuss the spiritual and cultural debt the country owes to Christianity. The central question of Bijan’s book is ‘does it matter that Christianity is dying in England?’. Thefaith has historically played a disproportionate role in many areas of English life that we take for granted now – for example, by shaping both charity and the welfare state. Yet this is influence is

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38:54

The mystifying process – and problems – behind...

Holy Smoke ·

2025/05/25

After Pope Francis died, it took the Roman Catholic Church just 17 days to choose a successor in Pope Leo XIV. It has been well over 6 months since Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigned and we are only just making sense of those chosen to sit on the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC), that will recommend his successor. Even then, it’s unlikely we will know more until the autumn. Why has it taken so long?Journalist, commentator – and quite frankly expert – Andrew Graystone joins Damian

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36:20

Finding spiritual treasure in César Franck

Holy Smoke ·

2025/05/19

The Belgian composer César Franck – unfairly associated with kitsch and sentimentality by certain cultural sophisticates – wrote some of the most spiritually inspiring music of the late 19th century. In this episode of Holy Smoke, Damian Thompson talks to the British-Israeli pianist Ariel Lanyi, who has just recorded Franck’s late masterpiece Prélude, Aria et Final on the Linn label. Ariel discusses the influence of Catholicism and the anti-Catholic Richard Wagner on the devout Franck, who was

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205 results

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