Gordon Lynch

Gordon Lynch is Michael Ramsey Professor of Modern Theology. His research over the past twenty years has focused on the nature and uses of moral meanings in society, ranging from the role of media and popular culture as sites of moral meaning, the nature of the 'sacred' in contemporary societies and 'progressive' forms of spirituality beyond institutional religion.

His most recent research has focused on religious and moral assumptions underpinning welfare initiatives that have separated children from their birth families or home communities, in particular the history of child migration schemes that sent around 100,000 unaccompanied children from the UK to other parts of the British Empire and Commonwealth. Drawing on this research he was both the co-curator of a major national exhibition on these schemes at the V&A Museum of Childhood in 2015/16 and served as an expert witness for the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse's investigation of the abuse of former British child migrants. Evidence presented by Professor Lynch, along with his fellow expert witness Professor Stephen Constantine, underpinned the Inquiry's recommendation that the UK Government urgently establish a compensation scheme for all former British migrants given known failings in its safeguarding of their welfare during the period in which the schemes were operating. Professor Lynch continues to work on issues of religion and historic institutional abuse, and is currently writing a monograph on the history of post-war UK child migration schemes to Australia.