Elizabeth Oldfield

Elizabeth Oldfield is the former head of Theos. Her writing has appeared in the FT, Prospect and The Times. Her Twitter handle is @esoldfield

Sex Education is a Victorian morality tale The Netflix hit isn't as right-on as its critics suggest

Elizabeth Oldfield

10 Oct 2023

Sad Girl Literature has hijacked the summer Cleopatra and Frankenstein is yet another story of female despair

Elizabeth Oldfield

16 Jun 2023

King Charles understands the Christian limits of his power Even the monarch must bow to God's will

Elizabeth Oldfield

24 Dec 2022

‘Eureka Day’ gives anti-vaxxers a voice A new play sensitively probes one of society's biggest fault lines

Elizabeth Oldfield

23 Sep 2022

Why do so many men find God later in life? Paul Kingsnorth and Martin Shaw are following a well-trodden path

Elizabeth Oldfield

29 Jun 2022

Why celebrating Christmas is the rational thing to do Cultures need myths to survive

Elizabeth Oldfield

25 Dec 2021

What Thomas Cromwell taught us about ambition The chief minister realised too late that careerism would lead to his undoing

Elizabeth Oldfield

11 Oct 2021

Paul Kingsnorth is right: we’re in a spiritual crisis The West's consumerism has run amok

Elizabeth Oldfield

21 Sep 2021

Gen Z: Puritanical about everything except drugs Cocaine use among young people is at a 16-year high

Elizabeth Oldfield

31 May 2021

Wellness is no replacement for religion Yoga and mindfulness won't fill the spiritual void

Elizabeth Oldfield

10 May 2021

Will we ever return to our rural roots? Re-connecting with the land is vital, argues a new book

Elizabeth Oldfield

30 Mar 2021

What St John has to say about Teen Vogue The Bible sheds light on some very modern issues

Elizabeth Oldfield

23 Mar 2021

Will Covid-19 turn us into a nation of ethicists? The pandemic has exposed what values we hold sacred

Elizabeth Oldfield

10 Feb 2021

The two faces of Christianity in Joe Biden’s America The practising Catholic inherits a country divided by faith

Elizabeth Oldfield

20 Jan 2021

Nice guys finish last — or do they? A new book challenges this long-standing misconception

Elizabeth Oldfield

17 Nov 2020

You can’t quantify the effect of lockdown Rationality can only take us so far

Elizabeth Oldfield

02 Nov 2020

Boeing’s deadly sin Greed is not just a corporate failure, but a moral one too

Elizabeth Oldfield

18 Sep 2020

Outside religion, who’s talking about forgiveness? The case of Janna Ezat reminds us of its power

Elizabeth Oldfield

26 Aug 2020

The spiritual transgression of facial recognition technology The face is too precious to be treated like a unit of data

Elizabeth Oldfield

12 Aug 2020

How social media became a rancid Babel Online platforms strip away the physical interactions humans depend on

Elizabeth Oldfield

16 Jul 2020

Let’s put an end to macho cultural pessimism It has been a common feature of elite outlets for decades

Elizabeth Oldfield

03 Jul 2020

Inequality is not a ‘Left-wing’ issue More and more voices on the Right are expressing concern

Elizabeth Oldfield

19 Jun 2020

Why Dietrich Bonhoeffer is essential lockdown reading In uncertain times the greatest gift is the security of a good home

Elizabeth Oldfield

01 Jun 2020

When will churchgoers sing again? It is the closest I come to a felt encounter with the divine

Elizabeth Oldfield

27 May 2020

Normalement, or back to normal? Let's look to the French for a better understanding of that tricky word

Elizabeth Oldfield

13 May 2020

Bim Afolami: the sacred has found its way into politics Like it or not, the Left and Right are acquiring a religious fervour

Elizabeth Oldfield

24 Apr 2020

Exile in Babylon: nature needs a sabbath We must use this crisis to re-shape our economy into something greener

Elizabeth Oldfield

26 Mar 2020

Forming new relationships in a time of Coronavirus We may be physically isolated, but there are still ways to help each other

Elizabeth Oldfield

13 Mar 2020

The zero-carbon future might save our communities If we want to maintain relationships, we will have to move less

Elizabeth Oldfield

28 Feb 2020

RIP George Steiner, prophet of attention The deceased cultural critic understood that our attention is our highest gift

Elizabeth Oldfield

05 Feb 2020

Time to introduce virtue into AI ethics Could courage, or love, or patience, be part of ‘ethical data’?

Elizabeth Oldfield

24 Jan 2020

Is this the decade individualism dies? Older voices are turning away from 'boomer values' in favour of a more co-operative world

Elizabeth Oldfield

10 Jan 2020

Why aren’t we all atheists?

Elizabeth Oldfield

25 Dec 2019

Robin Ince’s conversion to curiosity The shift from an anti-religious stance goes deeper than just branding

Elizabeth Oldfield

14 Dec 2019

Pivot to burnout Marketing experts should put their creative energy into rebranding Sabbath

Elizabeth Oldfield

20 Nov 2019

Tips from a grandmaster for the game of life A new book on chess illustrates the deep value of concentration - particularly in today's digital world

Elizabeth Oldfield

15 Nov 2019

Becoming formed as well as informed As another election gets going, it's not just information that matters

Elizabeth Oldfield

01 Nov 2019

How Russell Brand won me round The ex-junkie sex-addict comedian is a healthy voice for men in our culture

Elizabeth Oldfield

18 Oct 2019

You don’t have to be lefty to love Extinction Rebellion Boris Johnson acknowledged that Thatcher was ahead of her time in acknowledging the impact of “greenhouse gases”...

Elizabeth Oldfield

10 Oct 2019

Why can’t we talk about abortion?

Elizabeth Oldfield

04 Oct 2019

How much is a prayer worth? Economists have been trying to put a monetary value on prayer by testing how willing people are to pay for it...

Elizabeth Oldfield

27 Sep 2019

A timely defence of “stubborn gladness” Am I allowed to feel joyful? It's an argument I often have with myself. This new book of poems by Christian Wiman helps point to an answer...

Elizabeth Oldfield

19 Sep 2019

In defence of virtue signalling

Elizabeth Oldfield

13 Sep 2019

Harry Potter can be a sacred text

Elizabeth Oldfield

06 Sep 2019

Life on the inside

Elizabeth Oldfield

13 Aug 2019

Charisma will only get you so far

Elizabeth Oldfield

17 Jun 2019