The Big Tent

What does it mean to wrestle with belief while living remotely in rural Australia? In this episode of our mini-series on changing belief, Grace Brennan speaks with Maddie Burnheim – raising her family on a property in western New South Wales – about her relationship with Catholicism, sitting out her doubts, the rituals of a bush christening, and the times when faith turns up and steers you home. 'There are things still that don't sit right with me,' Maddie tells Grace, 'but I now use my faith as a tool to get back on track.'

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In episode two of our miniseries on changing belief, Geraldine Doogue and Julie Thorpe explore why so many young men are drawn to online communities that promise seemingly a secure hold amid so much sliding from their grasp: education, jobs, relationships. With demographer Simon Kuestenmacher, they look at the pull of the manosphere, the hunger for belonging and whether older wisdom traditions can still offer a meaning – beyond the clicks.

Mentioned in this episode:

Adrian Rosenfeldt's Eureka Street article, Dostoevsky’s underground man and the rise of the manosphere

Why More Americans Are Seeking Religion on The Daily podcast

Rutger Bregman's How to start a moral revolution, The 2025 BBC Reith Lectures also available on ABC RN Big Ideas

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‘Humanity has never had so many people living beyond the working stage of life as now,' says demographer and social commentator Bernard Salt, 'and we have to work out how to fund it, how to manage it, how to house it, how to care for it and how to deliver a meaning.' Bernard joins Geraldine and Julie first up in this mini-series on changing belief to explore what's disappeared and what might endure in ageing Australia.

Recommendations:

Lamorna Ash, Don't Forget We're Here Forever: A New Generation's Search for Religion, and her interview in The Tablet

Laurence Freeman, ‘An education of the heart’ in The Tablet

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‘Peace be with you all!’ Pope Leo’s first words to the world have resounded across continents — for all to hear. Fresh off the papal plane from Africa, CNN's Christopher Lamb speaks with Geraldine Doogue about what it means for the Church, and for the wider world, to have an American pope.

A year into his papacy, what’s Leo like, up close? What kind of moral and diplomatic voice is he becoming on the world stage? And what happens when the pope’s words are read through the prism of politics?

And a question for listeners: what would you like to hear more of in future episodes? Get in touch via our Facebook page or send a review via your podcast feed.

Mentioned in this episode:

Christopher Lamb's new book, American Hope: What Pope Leo XIV Means for the Church and the World

Peter Wehner's article in The Atlantic, The American Pope vs. the American President

Massimo Faggioli's Commonweal article, 'Cool' Catholicism?

When Archbishop Ryan Jimenez met Pope Leo at the Vatican last year, ahead of his ordination as Agaña’s archbishop in the US territory of Guam, he brought a message from the Pacific: ‘Holy Father, we’re sinking.’ During his recent visit to Australia he spoke with Geraldine Doogue about how church leaders can model genuine participation while also managing the impact of climate emergency and global conflict on local communities. And what lessons does Leo’s leadership of the Catholic Church hold for the Pacific?

Archbishop Jimenez was in Australia for the Hélder Camara Lecture at Newman College, Melbourne, and as part of the Bishop Vincent Presents series in the Diocese of Parramatta.

Links:

Archbishop Ryan’s public lecture in Parramatta

Pope Leo’s address to leaders in Angola, and in Equatorial Guinea

Geraldine's interview with Archbishop Ryan at the synod in Rome

Julie's book on the Helder Camara Lectures, Reasons for Hope: Helder Camara, Global Catholicism and the Australian Church

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