Sydney, Tuesday 09 April 2019: Can Western Civilisation be sustained without belief? How much do we owe to our Christian tradition, and what will be the impact of the steep decline of Christian belief in western societies?

That’s the line of inquiry to be addressed by Greg Sheridan AO, Foreign Editor of The Australian newspaper, and author of the best-selling, God is Good for You: A Defence of Christianity In Troubled Times, in the second Ramsay Lecture for 2019.

Speaking to an audience of high school and university students, business, political and community leaders, Mr. Sheridan will argue that Australians need to be better educated about the role Christianity has played in securing our democratic freedoms. And he will outline his belief that Christianity should remain an important continuing influence, even in our multi-ethnic, pluralistic society, where fewer and fewer Australians are identifying as believers or practicing the faith.

“What did we ever get from Christianity – apart from the idea of the individual, human rights, feminism, liberalism, modernity, social justice and secular politics?” Mr. Sheridan says. “Whether people recognize it or not, Christianity has been central to the development of our western societies and civilisation, and its principles remain integral today.”

Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation CEO Professor Simon Haines says that its Judeo-Christian inheritance is one of the two key pillars of Western civilisation. He applauded Mr. Sheridan’s conscientious study of the role of Christianity in our society, including interviews with political leaders from all persuasions on the impact of their Christian faith on their lives and work.

The Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation was created with an endowment from the late Paul Ramsay AO, founder of Ramsay Health Care, to promote a deeper understanding of western civilisation. The Ramsay Lecture series hosts speakers from all walks of life who have important and interesting perspectives relating to the world and our western heritage.

Mr. Sheridan is the second speaker for the Ramsay Lecture Series this year, following last month’s address by former Australian of the Year and burns treatment pioneer Professor Fiona Wood. Other speakers to address the Centre have included economist and columnist Henry Ergas, internationally acclaimed author David Malouf, historian Geoffrey Blainey, sociologist Professor John Carroll, and Dr Pano Kanelos, President of St John’s College Annapolis.

Printed versions of the lectures and video podcasts are available via the ‘News and Events’ section of our website:
www.ramsaycentre.org