Faith in Crisis: Christian Students in Peace and War

Abstract

Between 1930 and 1950, the Student Christian Movement and the Evangelical Union were among the largest and most active student societies at the University of Sydney. They engaged the interest and involvement of thousands of undergraduates, and of numerous academics, bishops and other churchmen. Significantly, these two groups represented very different strands of Christianity – one liberal, one conservative – and championed contrasting views of the role of Christians in both the University and wider society. This paper will explore their divergent interpretations of and responses to the peace movement of the mid 1930s, the outbreak of war in 1939 and post-war reconstruction. Meredith Lake is PhD graduand from Sydney University and historian for Hammond Care.