The Quaker George Cadbury was considered by his biographer to be both a businessman and a mystic. In this talk Mike King explores the role of religion and spirituality in the origins and legacy of the Industrial Revolution, and the implications of the Quaker ethos for an ethical capitalism. This is the subject of his new book, ‘Quakernomics: An Ethical Capitalism’, one which spans the disciplines of religion, science and economics. The Cadburys were only one of many Quaker families whose enterprises shaped the British economy. Does their example give us a way forward for re-shaping contemporary capitalism on ethical lines?

For the past four decades my research has frequently found me living in various parts of the world with minority religions who believe and do things that would seem, at least prima facie, to be both incredible and incomprehensible. I have also found myself drawn into taking an active, and often uncomfortable role in the so-called ‘cult scene’. Although it is impossible to generalise about the thousands of religious movements that currently exist, in this talk I shall discuss some of the characteristics that new new religions tend to display and how these are likely to change within a relatively short period. I shall also describe how, when stepping out of the ivory tower, one can find oneself in a Monty Python situation, discovering the familiar in the unfamiliar and the unfamiliar in the familiar.