C.S. Lewis’s Christian apologetic book Mere Christianity was published in 1952.
The book grew out of talks Lewis gave for BBC Radio during and shortly after the Second World War. The broadcasts were designed for a general audience rather than for specialists, and Lewis presented arguments about morality, Christian belief, and the person of Jesus in conversational language.
The radio talks were later revised, combined, and published in book form. Mere Christianity is arranged in four sections: “Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe,” “What Christians Believe,” “Christian Behavior,” and “Beyond Personality.” Its purpose was to discuss shared Christian beliefs rather than defend one denomination’s distinctive practices.
A common confusion is between the broadcast dates and the book’s publication date. The talks began in 1941, while the complete book appeared in 1952. The title refers to the common core of Christian doctrine, not to a separate church or denomination.