In the 1930s and 1940s - amid the crises of totalitarianism, war and a perceived cultural collapse in the democratic West - a high-profile group of mostly Christian intellectuals met to map out 'middle ways' through the 'age of extremes'. Led by the missionary and ecumenist Joseph H. Oldham, the group included prominent writers, thinkers and activists such as T. S. Eliot, John Middleton Murry, Karl Mannheim, John Baillie, Alec Vidler, H. A. Hodges, Christopher Dawson, Kathleen Bliss and Michael Polanyi. The 'Oldham group' saw faith as a uniquely powerful resource for social and cultural renewal, and it represents a fascinating case study of efforts to renew freedom in a dramatic confrontation with totalitarianism. The group's story will appeal to those interested in the cultural history of the Second World War and the issue of applying faith to the 'modern' social order.
'In this erudite and clearly argued book, John Carter Wood has done the valuable service of re-connecting a prominent circle of Christian thinkers to the wider intellectual history of the 1930s and 1940s.'
Pippa Catterall, Professor of History and Policy, University of Westminster
'This study mediates a rich legacy of wisdom and still-relevant questions which readers will find both highly informative and intellectually stimulating for the contemporary discussion.'
Keith Clements, biographer of J. H. Oldham and former General Secretary for the Conference of European Churches
Amid the growing political darkness of the late 1930s, a group of mostly Christian intellectuals met to diagnose the crises facing Europe and propose solutions. Assembled by leading missionary and ecumenist Joseph H. Oldham, it included prominent writers, thinkers and activists, notably T. S. Eliot, John Middleton Murry, Karl Mannheim and Michael Polanyi. Its efforts took on added intensity with the outbreak of the Second World War, and it continued into the post-war years of austerity and social reconstruction.
The members of the 'Oldham group' saw faith as a uniquely powerful resource for cultural and social renewal. They engaged with the major issues, ideas and thinkers of the age, seeking ways to integrate diverse Christian viewpoints, reconcile faith and secular society and re-shape British society. Connected to their era's most influential Christian thinkers - such as Reinhold Niebuhr, William Temple and Jacques Maritain - the group represents a fascinating case study of those who sought to renew freedom in a dramatic confrontation with totalitarianism.
