Religion helps forge communities and gives us purpose. How will we replace it?
Polls and studies show that people in the developed world are increasingly moving away from religion. Given the rapid trend towards more secular societies in parts of Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, it’s possible that in just a few decades, many cultures will have no central religious tradition at all. But where will that leave us? Happily in pursuit of romantic love and material wealth, or still desiring a deeper form of fulfillment?
Director: Jonathan Hodgson
Website: The School of Life
videoValues and beliefs
Why a single tree, uprooted in a typhoon, means so much to one man in Hanoi
7 minutes
videoMeaning and the good life
Leading 1950s thinkers on the search for happiness in trying times
29 minutes
videoFood and drink
The passage of time is a peculiar thing in a 24-hour diner
14 minutes
videoArt
Radical doodles – how ‘exquisite corpse’ games embodied the Surrealist movement
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videoBioethics
Is it ethical to have a second child so that your first might live?
10 minutes
videoSubcultures
Drop into London’s eclectic skate scene, where newbies and old-timers find community
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videoRituals and celebrations
A beginner’s guide to a joyful Persian tradition of spring renewal and rebirth
3 minutes
videoLove and friendship
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25 minutes
videoValues and beliefs
A Zen Buddhist priest voices the deep matters he usually ponders in silence
5 minutes