#091 - Fergus Butler-Gallie - Christianity’s Contradictions: Faith, Power and the Survival of the Church

Reverend Fergus Butler-Gallie is a writer, priest, and current Vicar of Charlbury in Oxfordshire. Educated at Oxford and Cambridge, he has ministered in parishes in Liverpool and Central London, and spent time living and working in the Czech Republic and South Africa. Fergus is the author of Touching Cloth—a Times and Mail on Sunday Book of the Year—as well as Priests de la Résistance! (a Spectator Book of the Year) and, most recently, Twelve Churches: An Unlikely History of the Buildings that Made Christianity. He also writes widely for publications including The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, The Church Times, The Critic and The Fence, and won the 2022 P.G. Wodehouse Essay Prize. In this episode, Fergus and I think out loud about his new book, exploring the paradoxes at the heart of Christianity through the stories of twelve remarkable churches. We discuss how events such as the Salem Witch Trials reveal the complexities of faith, the role of power in Christianity exemplified by Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, and the Church’s central part in the abolition of slavery. Fergus also reflects on how managerialism has almost—but not yet—killed the Church of England, why it must be rooted out, and how he himself came to faith after a period of teenage unbelief and much, much more. You can find Fergus’s work here: Fergus’s books The Critic The Guardian About Thinking Class: Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world. Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers. Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy. New episodes every week. ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube 🎧 Follow on Spotify 📰 Read on Substack 🐦 Follow on X