This page is a summary of present and past conferences.
The National summer residential conference has been replaced with a day conference in London this year - the first physical face-to-face confernce since the pandemic lockdown.
In the Beginning was Music?
Music and Religion
St John's Church, Waterloo Road, London SE1 8TY
Speakers/Performers:
Patti Whaley, BA, MA Musicology
A chartered accountant, IT specialist and Charity manager (formerly Chair, ActionAid UK; Treasurer, Food Ethics Council; Deputy Secretary General, Amnesty International), Patti is a local church organist. She has a B.A. & M.A. in Musicology and an ABRSM Diploma in organ performance (distinction).
She is a former Chair of the Sea of Faith Network.
The Revd Stephen Mitchell
Published author (including "God in the Bath" and "Past Perfect") and former Rural Dean & Canon, Stephen has always been a musical vicar. He has a degree in Music and taught music in a secondary school before reading Theology at Cambridge.
Stephen is also a former Chair of the Sea of Faith Network.
Elaine Henson
Elaine is a music graduate of the Universities of Exeter and Durham and a singing licentiate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Katie Hainbach, Head of Music and Arts, Alyth Synagogue
A mezzo-soprano, Katie is an experienced opera singer, teacher and choral conductor.
She has a BA (hons) in Music Studies (including a distinction in Music Pedagogy) and a MMus in Vocal Performance.
Katie has performed on radio and television in the UK and Ireland.
She has travelled around the country doing music for people with dementia and other community music.
At the Alyth Synagogue, Katie is responsible for the choirs, musical and acting groups.
Alyth Synagogue website: https://www.alyth.org.uk/
(For more Conference details and a booking form, download this PDF brochure)
Paying the £20 fee reserves your place.
Click this link to pay by Credit Card or PayPal
In the Beginning was Music?: Monday, July 24, 2023: Click this Link for extra conference details! This successful virtual Conference was held last Summer, with attendees from as far as Austria, Australia and California, USA
Sea of Faith Summer Conference 2022
The dates were: Monday July 25 to Thursday July 28, 2022.
Brian Mountford, Canon Emeritus of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford;
Anastasia Somerville-Wong, first Humanist Chaplain, Exeter University.
Here is a link for more details:
Click this Dedicated Conference Link for more details.
Edited transcripts and Zoom recordings of the Speakers' presentations are now available:
1. In the following issue of Sofia magazine: no.145, September 2022
2. Sofia magazine, no. 145, table of contents. Click this link.
2. As viewable Zoom recordings on this link.
This Conference was virtual, replacing our annual conference at Leicester University.
As a free online Zoom event, it attracted more attendees (from Australia to California) than our last physical conference!
We expect to be able to post links to some of our talks and discussions soon.
Monday July 19th to Friday July 23rd
"Talking Allowed"
God and Non-Realism
What is God?
The Death of God
The Future of God and Organised Religion
Click this Dedicated Conference Link for Full Detailed Programme.
To download a programme pdf:
No UK National Conference was held in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Date: Friday 5 November 12.30 pm to Saturday 4.30 pm
Venue: St Andrew's on The Terrace, Wellington
Theme: Spirituality for a sustainable future
Key note speaker: Ian Harris
- the Sir Lloyd Geering Lecture
Also: John Thornley on Black Theology
in African-American Music - illustrated
by blues, gospel, soul, reggae and soul tracks,
youth panel and speakers, core group discussions,
refreshment times and socialising
Click this link for more details.
No New Zealand National Conference was held in 2020 due to the Corona virus epidemic.
This conference was held 1 November to 2 November 2019
All Souls Church Complex, 30 Church Lane, Merivale, Christchurch
"Transforming Communities:
Finding meaning in a consumption-driven world"
Speakers were:
Click this link for more details. This took place from Tuesday to Thursday, 23 - 25 July, 2019 at Leicester University Guest speaker: the rev. Ernie Rea, presenter of Radio 4's discussion series "Beyond Belief". A transcript of his talk: "From Exclusive to Inclusive: a Journey of Faith". Guest speaker: Avril Robarts. Her presentation was entitled "This and That: A life of perplexed practice with emphasis on Indian tradition". In-house speaker: A past SOFN Chairman and current Treasurer, Stephen Williams, former Deputy Chief Probation Officer for the West Midlands. A transcript of his talk: "Justice Through the Looking Glass". Click on this link for further details This was Friday 2nd November to Sunday 4th November 2018, Silverstream Retreat Speakers were: Sir Lloyd Geering Click this link for more details. The last UK National Sea of Faith Conference was on 24 - 26 July 2018 at Leicester University Speakers included: Richard Norman is Emeritus Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Kent, UK Her most recent publication is "The Making of Humanity - Poetic Vision and Kindness". Click on this link for further details This was held Monday 6th November to Wednesday 8th November 2017, Silverstream Speakers were: Lloyd Geering, Rachel Kohn, Sue Bradford and Hal Taussig It is 500 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg. Tuesday 25th July to Thursday 27th July 2017, Leicester University The speakers were: Abby Day, Dilwar Hussain and Richy Thompson Can our feelings of compassion, empathy, ethics, mortality, survive in the face of the increasing and seemingly dehumanising pressures and demands of the IT age? Transcripts of the main talks have been published in the September issue (no. 125) of our 'sofia' magazine
'In the Beginning was the Word' - Religion as Poetry and Story? Saturday 25th March 2017 Main Speakers were: Salley Vicker's talk was repeated at Westminster Abbey, Thursday 11 May 6.30pm as the 32nd Eric Symes Abbott Memorial Lecture: "Faith and Imagination"
Transcripts of Mark Oakley's and Dinah Livingstone's talks were published in issue no. 124 of 'sofia' magazine Thursday 21st July - 23rd July 2016, Leicester University 'Religion - Where Next?' Speakers included: "I was religious but now I'm..." Professor Denise Cush, Professor of Religion and Education, Bath Spa University "I'm not religious but..." The Reverend Andrew Brown, Minister of the Unitarian Memorial Church, Cambridge "The freedom to be tomorrow what we are not today" Professor Cush's transcript is now available in the September Sofia magazine Andrew Brown's transcript is on his personal blog Sea of Faith in the Churches (SoFiC) is a special interest group within the Sea of Faith Network that explores the interface between church and SoF, and is open to anyone who is interested.
This was held on Saturday 10 October 10 2015 Kensington Unitarians' Essex Church, London W8 4RT
'Church Going Forward' The main speaker was the Revd Meg Burton Click this link for full Conference details Friday 2 October to Sunday 4 October 2015 Speakers included: Lloyd Geering, Anjum Rahman, Kennedy Graham, Rod Oram Click this link for full Conference details THURSDAY 23RD JULY - SATURDAY 25TH JULY 2015 Speakers included (click the following link for more detail): This conference was held Friday 26 September 2014 - Sunday 28 September 2014, Oxford What do we mean by God and is the word past its use-by date? What would a post-theistic church be for? These are the questions that Gretta Vosper will be considering at this conference. She will be assisted by her husband, Scott Kearns, whose speciality is post-theist words and songs.
Bronwyn Hayward, Lloyd Geering Lecture
David Hanna, Hana Olds & Merv Dickinson
Sea of Faith National Conference 2019
New Zealand Sea of Faith National Conference 2018
(two months short of his 101st birthday, this was his last scheduled public speaking occasion),
Charles Waldegrave, Byron Rangiwai, Barbara Peddle
Sea of Faith National Conference 2018
1. Professor Richard Norman
2. Doctor Anthony Carroll.
The title of their talk was "Hope, Faith and Redemption"
His publications include On Humanism (2nd edition 2012). He is a founder-member of the Humanist Philosophers' Group and a Vice-President of Humanists UK
Anthony Carroll was (until recently) Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Theology at Heythrop College, University of London, UK
His publications include Protestant Modernity: Weber, Secularization, and Protestantism (2007), and he is an Anglican priest.
3. Dinah Livingstone's talk was entitled "Hope for Humanity - A Theology of Liberation and the Beautiful City".
Dinah is a poet, translator and editor of Sofia.
New Zealand Sea of Faith National Conference 2017
What are the reforming initiatives today?
What needs to be discarded, challenged, or radically renewed?
Sea of Faith National Conference 2017
Sea of Faith London Conference 2017
St John's Church, Waterloo Road, London SE1 8TY
Mark Oakley: Canon-Chancellor, St Paul's Cathedral
"Believing in Poetry"
Dinah Livingstone: editor, 'sofia' magazine
"Shining - Poetry and Theology as Sister Arts"
Salley Vickers: novelist and poet
"Connections between Art, Literature, Psychology and Religion."
Salley Vicker's talk was published in 'sofia' issue no 126
National UK Conference 2016
Doctor John Breadon, Assistant Chaplain at Eton CollegeConference Transcripts Now Available
SoFiC Day Conference 2015
It provides a meeting place for those SOF members (and their friends) who find themselves in the midst, or hovering on the edge, of the Christian Church
(Hospital chaplaincy has changed beyond recognition since last century. Revd Meg Burton, long-time hospital chaplain and co-editor of the international Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy has been in the vanguard of these developments and will describe for us the current model. Meg was the chaplain member of the working group that, in response to concerns about the Liverpool Care Pathway, devised new protocols for end-of-life care, and she will tell us about the considerations underlying these.)
Sea of Faith Network (New Zealand) Conference 2015
Subject: 'On the Brink? Responding to an Uncertain Future'
28th ANNUAL UK CONFERENCE 2015
Venue: the University of Leicester
Subject: 'Out of Our Minds. What Can We Offer Towards a Healthier World?'
David Boulton, author, journalist and broadcaster; and Andy Pakula, non-theistic Unitarian minister.
Gretta Vosper weekend conference: With or Without God
A joint 'PCN Britain' and 'Sea of Faith' Event
Click this link for full details of the Conference
This event was on Wednesday 24 September 2014, London
Has the word 'God' got so much baggage we should abandon it? Would Christianity be any the worse if we did?
Gretta Vosper is an influential Canadian minister and author. She re-envisages Christianity from a post-theist point of view.
Click this link for full details
FRIDAY 18TH JULY - SUNDAY 21ST JULY 2014
Venue: the University of Leicester
Subject: MAKING CONNECTIONS
A recording of this Conference (CDs and a DVD of highlights) is now available from Chris Avis
The keynote speakers were:
Derek McAuley, Chief Officer of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches.
He takes the view that "Unitarianism and Free Christianity, from its position on the boundary, can be a bridge between people of different faiths and none"
Keith Porteous Wood, executive director of the National Secular Society (NSS).
Keith has been described as "a radical activist in a business suit". He has raised the campaigning profile of the NSS both nationally and internationally. Keith has a great deal to contribute on "making connections" because he moves on a daily basis from intervening against the Christian Institute in the European Court of Human Rights to campaigning with them against measures restricting free speech.
Pippa Evans, comedian and co-founder of the Sunday Assemblies.
Pippa worked with us to develop a "Sunday Assembly" to conclude the 2014 Conference.
“Secular Religion?”
Saturday 21st September 2013
Main Speakers were: Stephen Batchelor; Don Cupitt; Richard Holloway
4 DVD Video Recordings of this Conference are now available: £12 by PayPal, credit card or cheque (payable to Chris Avis, not Sea of Faith).
Transcripts of all talks from this sell-out Conference
A personal view from Dinah Livingstone, our Sofia magazine editor (Christmas no.110); see her editorial
Click this link for full details of the London UK 2013: Secular Religion? Conference.
A recording of the Conference is now available from Chris Avis. See ordering details
23 – 25 July 2013 at the University of Leicester
“For the Common Good”
The title 'For the Common Good' invited us to look beyond humanly created religions and ideologies to shared ethics and action.
Professor Tim Jackson, a British ecological economist and Professor of Sustainable Development, University of Surrey
Alom Shaha, author of 'The Young Atheist's Handbook'
Chris Howson, author of 'A Just Church' and Anglican Chaplain to the University of Sunderland
Edited transcripts of these talks can be found in Sofia magazine (September no.109)
Saturday 10 November 2012
“Education in Good Faith?”
Friends' Meeting House, Oxford
Do Free Schools, Academies and Faith Schools offer to help, or to hinder the development of children's life-skills for a just, open and free society?
To read a comprehensive report of the conference, click this link:
EDUCATION-IN GOOD FAITH?To download this Report in PDF form, click the following link:
EDUCATION-IN GOOD FAITH? PDF documentFriday 13 – Sunday 15 July 2012 at the University of Leicester
“Work and Worth”
The subject of this year’s conference was 'Work and Worth'.
Conference Speakers:
Don Cupitt, Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Professor Femi Oyebode
(Professor of Psychiatry , University of Birmingham)
Professor Harriet Bradley (Professor of Sociology, University of Bristol)
Martin Morgan , Consultant Occupational Therapist
Tony Windross, Vicar, Hythe, Kent; author of The Thoughtful Guide to Faith
Edited transcripts of these talks can be found in Sofia magazine (September no.105)
Sea of Faith in the Churches (SoFiC) is a special interest group within the Sea of Faith Network that explores the interface between church and SoF, and is open to anyone who is interested.
It provides a meeting place for those SOF members (and their friends) who find themselves in the midst of, or hovering on the edge of, the Christian Church
This was held on Saturday 10 March 2012 Kensington Unitarians' Essex Church, London W8 4RT
BEING CHURCH - on a rising tide?
Brian Mountford, Vicar, University Church, Oxford; Fellow, St Hilda's College; author of Christian Atheist: Belonging without Believing
Tony Windross, Vicar, Hythe, Kent; author of The Thoughtful Guide to Faith
Richard Hall, former Curate, Holy Trinity, Eastbourne; emeritus Head of Religion, King Edward VI School, Southampton.
Click this link for full Conference details
Edited transcripts of these talks can be found in Sofia magazine (June no. 104)
Audio Recordings of the 2011 Annual Conference ('Brain, Belief and Behaviour') and the 2011 London Conference ('Lust for Certainty') are now available from Chris Avis. Purchasing details
Edited transcripts of three talks can be downloaded from the following links:
Saturday 26 November 2011
“In Conversation with Tony Windross” Making Religion Accessible
This one-day seminar was led by Tony Windross, author of the book The Thoughtful Guide to Faith and the Why Bother? leaflets. It was organised by the North Oxfordshire local Sea of Faith group
Saturday 19 November 2011
“Reinventing Religion”
Friends' Meeting House, 43 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LW
Our principal speakers were Don Cupitt, Katy Jennison and Mohammad Talib
Read a short piece by Katy Jennison 'Invented Gods'
Then read Katy's talk at the Conference 'Reinventing Religion: the Neo-Pagan Experience'
Friday 22 – Sunday 24 July 2011
University of Leicester
“Brain, Belief and Behaviour”
The subject of this year’s conference was religion and psychology, getting to the heart of our understanding and appreciation of religion as a human creation, the evolution of our brains, and our behaviour as the earth’s most intelligent species.
Our principal speakers were:
Audio Recordings of the 2011 Annual Conference ('Brain, Belief and Behaviour') are now available from Chris Avis. Purchasing details
Edited transcripts of three talks can be downloaded from the following links:
Saturday 26 March 2011
‘The Lust for Certainty’
St John's Church, Waterloo Road, London SE1 8TY
10.30 – 5.00pm
Speakers: Kenan Malik, David Boulton, Julian Baggini, Mark Vernon
Full speakers' details can be found on the conference website.
A transcript of Kenan Malik's talk is now available on the following link http://www.kenanmalik.com/lectures/moral_certainty.html
A 4-disc audio CD set of the conference is now available. Cost per set of 4 discs including P&P is £11 from:
Chris Avis, 37 Clifton Road, Exeter EX1 2BN
Please make your cheque payable to C. Avis, not SoF.
The 2010 conference was held in July at Leicester University and was on the topic of Religion and Justice
Speakers were:
You can listen to the podcast of Maryam Namazie's talk, No Sharia Law in Britain or download the transcript
You can also listen to the podcast of Kumi Naidoo's talk, Witness, Wisdom and Justice or download the transcript
Science and Religion
The Sea of Faith's 2009 UK annual conference, 21 - 23 July, held at Leicester University, explored the The Sea of Faith's message that both religion and science are human creations which enable us to value religion and science as insights for which humanity is totally responsible, both for their content and for the use we make of them.
Speakers were:
If multiculturalism is a balancing act between diversity and intergration, have we lost our footing and slipped off the tight-rope?
with
Mohammed Aziz
Simon Barrow
Sir Bernard Crick (due to illness, Sir Bernard did not attend)
SOFN 6th London Open Conference, Saturday 22 November 2008, Friends House, Euston Rd, London
Creativity in Religion and the Arts
Held at Liverpool Hope University, 25-27 July 2008
Speakers were:
The Good life
The Sea of Faith UK annual conference, 24-26 July at Leicester University, explored the relationship between spirituality, sustainability and the good life. Speakers included:
Jonathon Porritt, co-founder of Forum for the Future and chair of the UK Sustainable Development Commission;
Tim Jackson, Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey, and Director of a new research group on Lifestyles, Values and the Environment";
Stephanie Dowrick, author of Forgiveness and other acts of love.
Taking each other seriously: exploring the Otherness of the Other
You can listen to audio versions of these talks on our Podcast pageBeyond Good and Evil: the challenge of reconciliation
The Sea of Faith welcomed Richard Holloway and Mary Midgley to join Don Cupitt in discussing the nature of good, evil, forgiveness and reconciliation in a post-realist context. Here are some of the conference materials:
Sea of Faith: the first twenty years
The Sea of Faith conference celebrated twenty years since the original Sea of Faith TV broadcasts with a conference featuring Don Cupitt, Keith Ward and Nigel Leaves. Some highlights:
Taking a stand: Radical theology as social and cultural critique
The Sea of Faith UK annual conference and AGM was held at Leicester University, on 22-24 July. Featured speakers included Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, writer for The Independent; James O'Connell, Professor Emeritus of Peace Studies at University of Bradford and President of the Partnership for Theological Education; and our own Don Cupitt.
Faith and Fantasy
I'm Talking about Jerusalem
SOF Magazine and the journal Political Theology held a one-day conference featuring Tony Benn, Leslie Griffiths, former president of the Methodist Conference, and Christine Evans, Executive Director, Catholic Institute of International Relations. David Boulton provided a report on the conference.
A Faith Odyssey
Religious Humanism
David Boulton and SOF magazine hosted a one-day conference on Religious Humanism in September 2000. Here are the main papers from that conference:
Faith in the future?
What is religion for?
What on earth is spirituality?