Diarmaid MacCulloch and Christopher Clark

Historian of the Church Professor Sir Diarmaid MacCulloch and historian Professor Sir Christopher Clark discuss sex and Christianity including a curious scandal in Königsberg.

MacCulloch is an award-winning author and broadcaster and emeritus professor of the history of the Church at the University of Oxford. In his latest book, Lower than Angels, he writes about the 3,000-year story of Christians encountering sex, gender and family. MacCulloch says Christian societies have seen about-turns in attitudes to women’s place in society, same-sex love, public gender and trans identity. MacCulloch says people should focus on the glorious contradictions and complexity in the history of Christianity.

Clark is the Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge and author of several bestselling books on German history. In his latest, A Scandal in Königsberg, he recounts the sensational allegations about the sleepy town that surfaced in the late 1830s. The scandal revolved around a charismatic preacher and his followers accused of sexually charged religious rituals.

This event is part of the festival’s programme on Christian tradition.