Royal Assent: Crown neutrality on Brexit is unsustainable
The last time Royal Assent was withheld from a parliamentary bill was in the wake of the union of England and Scotland in 1707/8, when Queen Anne declined to support…
Customs and traditions
When did traditional morality become ‘fundamentalist’?
It was a question posed by Professor John Milbank on Twitter a few days ago. Or, rather, it wasn't posed as a question, such as the 'when' inquiry into conceptual chronology (which is almost irrelevant), but as an observation of…
Rowan Williams was denounced for saying Sharia Law in UK was inevitable, so why isn’t Justin Welby being commended for saying it’s not?
Back in 2008, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams delivered a cerebral lecture about society and pluralism to a huddle of lawyers gathered in London. It might have remained fairly…
Speaker Bercow’s Trump ban is political, but his wig abolition is a greater contempt
You don't have to be fan of Donald Trump not to feel a certain disquiet at the summary proclamation of Speaker Bercow that the President of the United States will…
Vicars warned not to wear dog collars in public for fear of Islamist attack
Vicars don't need to say, "Hello, I'm the vicar." Their dog collars make voiceless introduction: they are an emblem of office; an indication of vocation and service. They are…
Vote Leave: take control. Believe in Britain, or bow down to Brussels
The debates are done: the hour is come. EU Referendum Day 2016 is here. Like the Church of England, this blog is impeccably neutral on the matter: it is…
Salt & Light: the gospel, the EU, and the misappropriation of God's word
Steve Thomas is the International Team Leader of Salt & Light - "an international family of churches together on mission". Their core commitments are impeccably orthodox and undeniably evangelical,…
Cameron's EU deal: we were lied to in 1975; we won't be deceived again
David Cameron's EU deal is no deal at all. It amounts to minor tinkering, presentational puff, and achieves little in terms of the subsidiarity-sovereignty objectives which the Conservative Party…
Mosque without minaret? Baroness Warsi spectacularly misses the point
What's the main problem with Islam? The mosque and minaret, or the Wahhabi-Salafist apprehension of Mohammed? Professor Sayeeda Warsi (of St Mary’s University, Twickenham) explains: “What I would like…
Woolf Institute: Butler-Slush and the demand for more multifaith mish-mash
So, the Woolf Institute, whose declared mission is concerned with "combining theology with the social sciences and the humanities", in pursuit of "interfaith" "social solidarity" and "common purpose", convenes…
Fr Raniero Cantalamessa – Preacher to the Papal Household – to speak at Synod Eucharist
As the Queen and Supreme Governor of the Church of England inaugurates the tenth General Synod on 24th November, it has been announced that the ceremony will be preceded…