#113 - Bijan Omrani & Alka Sehgal-Cuthbert - Britain’s Cultural Inheritance Is Being Squandered And We’re Living With the Consequences

Dr. Bijan Omrani is a classicist, historian, and Oxford-educated barrister. His research explores questions of religious history and cultural identity, spanning from ancient Roman Greece to Afghanistan and the Silk Road. He has taught Classics at Eton College and Westminster School, is a former editor of Asian Affairs, and currently serves as a Research Fellow at the University of Exeter. He is also a churchwarden.

Dr. Alka Sehgal-Cuthbert is the director of the organisation Don't Divide Us. She is an educator, academic, author, and campaigner who believes passionately in the essential importance of impartiality. 

What does it mean to steward a civilisation?

For centuries, England’s institutions — churches, schools, charities, civic bodies, even industries — were shaped by a Christian understanding of stewardship: the belief that what we inherit is held in trust, not owned outright; that culture, faith, and place impose obligations as well as rights.

In this episode of Thinking Class, Bijan and Alka and I examine how far Britain has drifted from that inheritance, and what the consequences have been for its institutions, culture, and public life.

We begin with the Christian idea of stewardship itself, before exploring:

• The disappearance of cultural knowledge once taken for granted — scripture, song, manners, dress, and shared moral reference points
• How stewardship historically shaped the governance of England’s public institutions
• Where those institutions are now breaking with that inheritance
• The Church of England’s Project Spire and the logic behind its reparations agenda
• How today’s political and cultural elites compare with earlier generations of stewards
• The decline of civic responsibility and the erosion of the “little platoons” of society
• Why fewer people now see themselves as custodians of what they have inherited
• And what, if anything, might be done to recover a culture of stewardship

This is a conversation about inheritance, obligation, and continuity — and about what is lost when a civilisation forgets that it is something to be kept, not endlessly reinvented.

Guest work:

• Buy God is an Englishman by Bijan Omrani
• Follow Bijan Omrani on X
• Read Bijan Omrani's writing in The Telegraph and The Critic
• Visit Alka Sehgal Cuthbert's website
• Follow Alka Sehgal-Cuthbert on X
• Visit the Don’t Divide Us website

About Thinking Class:
Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast exploring the cultural, historical, and moral forces shaping England, Britain, and the wider Western world.

Hosted by John Gillam, the show features serious conversations with historians, academics, and independent thinkers.

Thinking Class is concerned with discovering long-term patterns over headlines and hot-takes. Expect historically-grounded analysis on matters of national character, institutions, demography, belief, and political legitimacy.

New episodes every week.

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