“The Christian Chameleon”: How Moral Re-Armament utilized mass-media to speak to a changing Twentieth Century Britain
Moral Re-Armament - the evangelical Christian group previously known as The Oxford Group and currently known as Initiatives of Change - has seen decades of change since its establishment in 1920. How this faith-based movement adapted its core Christian message to meet the changing needs, anxieties, and cultural mediums of a changing Britain is the focus of this paper. By focussing on Moral Re-Armament’s utilisation of newspaper advertisements, theatre plays, and LP records, this paper will demonstrate religion’s ability to adapt to, and overcome, the challenges posed to religious beliefs throughout the Twentieth Century. It will attribute Moral Re-Armament’s success in doing so to its ability to become, as David Bebbington termed it, a “Christian Chameleon”; that is, remaining consistently Christian at its core whilst carefully crafting a changing exterior to appeal to a wide variety of ever-changing Britons.
All welcome– This event is free, but booking is required.
This page was last updated on 14 March 2025
