Which C.S. Lewis book collects his 1941 BBC broadcasts explaining basic Christian beliefs?

Mere Christianity collects C.S. Lewis’s BBC broadcasts explaining basic Christian beliefs.

Lewis delivered the first series of radio talks in 1941, followed by additional series in 1942 and 1944. The broadcasts were aimed at a broad wartime audience rather than at specialists. Their conversational style helped Lewis explain ideas such as morality, repentance, Christian doctrine, and the relationship between different Christian traditions.

The talks were later revised and published in book form. Mere Christianity is arranged in four books: “Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe,” “What Christians Believe,” “Christian Behaviour,” and “Beyond Personality.”

The title does not refer to a separate denomination. Lewis used “mere Christianity” for the shared core of belief found across historic Christian traditions. The book is often confused with The Problem of Pain, which was published earlier and addresses suffering and divine goodness.