'Christian Intellectuals and the Mass Media in 1930s and 1940s Britain'

Social and economic dislocation, the rise of totalitarianism and the fears (and then reality) of a new global war generated many explanations for the crisis of modern life in the 1930s and 1940s. Intriguing responses to what Richard Overy has called this ‘morbid age’ were offered by a British Christian intellectual network based within the Anglican Church and the international ecumenical movement. Events such as the 1937 Oxford ecumenical conference on ‘Church, Community and State’ or the books and articles published by members of a high-powered discussion circle known as ‘The Moot’ (participants included T. S. Eliot, John Middleton Murry, J. H. Oldham and Karl Mannheim) both reflected and significantly influenced Christian thinking about modernity in a time of crisis. This paper will explore both the diagnoses of and cures for the modern crisis offered by these theologians, philosophers, sociologists, civil servants, churchmen and writers insofar as they related to modern forms of media. Though diverse, their views shared a critique of ‘mass’ society – and particularly the ‘mass media’ – for undermining humane values and forms of traditional community. In response, these Christian intellectuals not only sought ways of using existing media outlets but also created new ones to promote their ideas for renewing British and European life.