Advertising has a bad name in society, because it's associated with selling us things we don't really need: chocolate, 4x4 cars, diamond rings. We may appreciate the artistry, intelligence and wit that's often found in adverts -- we've just got problems with what goods are being sold.

So imagine a...

You often hear it said that 'musems of art are our new churches': in other words, in a secularising world, art has replaced religion as a touchstone of our reverence and devotion. It's an intriguing idea, part of the broader ambition that culture should replace scripture, but in practice art...

For centuries in the West, there was a figure in society who fulfilled a function that is likely to sound very odd to modern secular ears. He (there were no she's in the role) didn't sell you anything or fulfill any material need, he couldn't fix your ox cart or...

Probably the most boring question you can ask about religion is whether or not the whole thing is 'true'. Unfortunately, recent public discussions on religion have focused obsessively on precisely this issue, with a hardcore group of fanatical believers pitting themselves against an equally small band of fanatical atheists.