Which C.S. Lewis work began as broadcast talks on Christian belief during World War II?

Mere Christianity began as broadcast talks on Christian belief during World War II.

C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity grew out of a series of BBC radio talks broadcast between 1941 and 1944. The talks were later revised and published as books, eventually forming the work known by this title. Lewis aimed to explain shared Christian ideas rather than argue for one particular denomination.

The phrase “mere Christianity” refers to the common core of beliefs held across historic Christian traditions. Lewis discusses morality, human nature, forgiveness, and the Christian understanding of God and Christ. The work’s radio origins helped shape its direct, conversational style, which made difficult ideas accessible to a broad wartime audience.

Mere Christianity is sometimes mistaken for a conventional systematic theology textbook. It is better understood as popular Christian apologetics, written for listeners and general readers. Its famous moral argument and discussion of Christian virtues helped make it one of Lewis’s most widely read nonfiction books.