C.S. Lewis began his BBC radio broadcasts about Christianity in 1941.
The talks were delivered during the Second World War, when Britain faced military danger and widespread uncertainty. Lewis spoke in a direct, conversational style intended for ordinary listeners rather than specialists. His broadcasts discussed morality, belief, and the basic ideas shared by historic Christian traditions.
The talks were broadcast in stages from 1941 to 1944. Lewis later revised and arranged the material as books, eventually producing the work known as Mere Christianity. The title was not the original title of every broadcast series; it became the name of the collected book published in 1952.
Lewis was already known at Oxford, but the broadcasts made him famous far beyond academic and literary circles. The BBC invited him because of his ability to explain difficult ideas clearly. The programs were not a church service or a dramatized fiction series; they were short spoken addresses aimed at a national audience.