Public life

BBC questions whether it’s appropriate for Christian MP to display her faith

"Was it appropriate for this MP to go to work with a cross on her forehead?" asks BBC Politics, with the presumption that she should be somehow "embarrassed" by such a display of her Christian faith. Was this appropriate? Was…

Rev’d Dr Gavin Ashenden resigns as Chaplain to the Queen

January 22, 2017
225 Comments

After a conversation instigated by officials at Buckingham Palace, it is with regret that the Rev'd Dr Gavin Ashenden – theologian, academic, columnist and occasional contributor to this blog –…

Do we really need a faith minister for “fairies, goblins and imaginary friends”?

September 15, 2016
132 Comments

We live in an age of ever-increasing secularity, in which religious practice must be half-hidden and religious conviction often-denied. You have to excavate quite deep to discover the moral sources…

The destruction of Andrea Leadsom: is it no longer permissible to be proud of motherhood?

July 9, 2016
571 Comments

"I absolutely am a Christian and I am very proud of it," Conservative leadership candidate Andrea Leadsom told Channel 4 News. "And it absolutely acts in the background in…

Batley and Spen by-election: you don't respect a murdered MP by suspending democracy

June 19, 2016
426 Comments

"Following the tragic killing of Labour MP Jo Cox, the Conservative Party has decided not to contest the forthcoming by-election as a mark of respect to a much-loved and…

Should Christians in the public sector 'keep mum' to get on?

January 4, 2016
424 Comments

"Christianity is being subtly 'silenced' within the public sector in the UK because of a civil service culture which treats speaking about faith as 'not the done thing'," writes…

Stephen Crabb has no need to be ashamed of his Christian faith

December 19, 2015
164 Comments

Who could have imagined just 15 years ago at the turn of the century that we would now be living in such unpredictable times? What seems like a permanent…

Woolf Institute: Butler-Slush and the demand for more multifaith mish-mash

December 8, 2015
127 Comments

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…

Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive the politicians who trespass against us

May 5, 2015
113 Comments

Trust – or more precisely the lack of it – has arguably been the defining theme of this General Election. This was plainly demonstrated during last week’s BBC Question…

Cameron's good life is not unambiguous, but it is the best of the goods on offer

April 15, 2015
127 Comments

Everyone strives for the good, but no one ever quite possesses it. It is a future project of hope and value. It might even belong to the past, because…