In Search of Wild Gods. Reflections on Nick Cave and Tom Holland in conversation about Christianity

Nick Cave and Tom Holland discussed Christianity in an event organised by Unherd entitled In Search of Wild Gods on Thursday 9th January 2025. Chaired by Freddie Sayers, the conversation revolved around whether and why there is renewed interest in Christianity. 

Tom Holland’s book Dominion has become a staple of learned comment, with its thesis that pretty much all the values that shape our society are Christian values. Nick Cave is currently on a global tour with tremendous, joyous, hard won songs conveying a distinctly revival feel. But are we in a culturally significant moment? 

The answers they gave are much worth considering. What do they find in church? What do they not want to find? What is about the weird and wonderful that so appeals to Tom Holland? What is about the mystical and inexpressible that attracts Nick Cave? 

The discussion brought little comfort for Christians who seek success by numbers or ecclesiastics hoping a panic about cultural Christianity will save the church. Rather, both Cave and Holland point to a kind of Christianity that opens onto the unknown, inspires the imagination, and enlarges the capacities of the human soul. 

0:00 Why Nick Cave went back to church 
6:15 How Nick Cave imagines God 
9:30 Tom Holland's love of the weird 
14:23 Holland's thesis about Christian values 
17:10 Is there a Christian revival underway? 
23:28 Christianity at its most compelling 
28:13 Music as akin to religious experience