Veneration, adoration and devotion in the Cult of Trump
"Much of the world and half the country will breathe a sigh of relief that the four years of psychodrama have ended," intoned the sober and disinterested Matt Frei of…
Political bias
The Archbishop Interviews: Justin Welby to host BBC Radio 4 chat show on faith and morality
It would be a great honour indeed to be interviewed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and explore complex contemporary ethical issues and nuanced moral-political dilemmas in the context of the plurality of religious belief and the centrality of the Christian…
Concession and transition or voter fraud and prosecution? If only Alistair Cooke were alive today
Earlier this year, locked down in France, I wrote about my pleasure at discovering an important treasure trove from my childhood and adolescence. The BBC has used the wonders of…
Diversity is deeper than BAME and LGBT: it is social, political, intellectual and philosophical
Lord Hall, the outgoing Director General of the BBC, has demanded that the Corporation improve the diversity of its staff to better reflect those who pay its TV licence. "You…
Don’t judge an archbishop by a newspaper headline
This is a very poor headline from the Sunday Times, purposely written to exasperate Brexiteer Tories and bring comfort and joy to all sorts of Remainery types. But it is…
Bemused by Brexit? Come to church for tea and prayer – unless your vicar is a Remainer
At this moment of national crisis and international humiliation (which it is), the Church of England is encouraging people to come to church to be 'Together' for a cup of…
Church of England’s Brexit prayers – what exactly do they mean?
A few months ago the Archbishop of York issued a Brexit prayer, or, rather, 'A Prayer for Parliament in Time of Brexit Trouble'. It was a fairly benign effort which…
Following CofE guidance for gender transition services, bishops weigh the possibility of political transition services
The Church of England has issued new guidance for parishes planning gender transition services to help transgender people mark their transition to their new identity. Since there is now no…
Tree of Life Synagogue massacre: Jon Snow stokes division with Channel 4 #FakeNews
President Trump is due to visit Pittsburgh today to honour the 11 Jews of the Tree of Life Synagogue who were gunned down in the deadliest antisemitic attack in US…
‘Cranmer’s continual campaign against the bishops…’
The Bishop of Willesden is of the view that the Archbishop Cranmer blog is waging a "continual campaign against the bishops". Apparently, this isn't acceptable because it confuses the political…
Banning beggars and fining the homeless: why do clergy only condemn Tory-run councils?
Three women have been given a community protection warning (CPW), prohibiting them from begging outside the Hounslow Jamia Masjid & Islamic Centre. Cllr Hanif Khan said: "These individuals were specifically…
Forget Brexit academics – how many of them are Conservatives?
Government Whip Chris Heaton-Harris has sent a letter to all university vice chancellors asking for the names of academics lecturing on European affairs, with particular reference to Brexit. He also…
Bishop of Liverpool urges Christians to vote Conservative
It was a very, very subtle exhortation tweeted by the Rt Rev'd Paul Bayes, Bishop of Liverpool. So subtle, in fact, as to be (he would insist) a totally undetectable…
Lichfield Cathedral hosts anti-Semitic conference which bars Zionist Jew from asking questions
"The daily life of the Cathedral is the responsibility of the Dean", explains the Lichfield Cathedral website. And the Dean of Lichfield Cathedral is the Very Rev'd Adrian Dorber, who…
Shami Chakrabarti: a shameful peerage for a sham report into Labour's anti-Semitism
It takes a lot for the Chief Rabbi to remonstrate with a big political cheese and denounce an official independent inquiry. But the elevation of Shami Chakrabarti to the…
If the BBC is "our cultural NHS", it's another state religion
According to Shadow Culture Secretary Chris Bryant, the BBC is the nation’s "cultural NHS". He said it to the Royal Television Society, and wrote it for HuffPo UK. And…
Without Christian vision the future of politics looks bleak
A couple of days ago my NASUWT magazine dropped through the letterbox and, as always, it makes for pretty depressing reading. If the contents are to be believed, most…
The Times takes another swipe at the Archbishop of Canterbury
Reasoned criticism of the Church of England is always welcome: as a human institution it boasts of no perfection; as a provisional branch of the Catholic Church it makes…
A few rocky facts belie Sentamu's sandy statist socialism
The Most Rev'd and Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, has edited a neat selection of essays on the current moral state of the nation. Entitled On…
Ukip racism, bad; Labour racism.. well, I'll get back to you on that
"Are you intentionally out to give @UKIP an easy ride from a Christian perspective?" demanded someone called Peter Adams yesterday, in a terse Twitter response to the question: "Has…