Category: Global politics

Islam as a political force: more than belief

Since 9/11, and even more so with the atrocities committed by ISIS in Iraq and Syria, violence in the name of God is predominantly perceived as a “different” kind of violence, that triggers more “absolute” and radical manifestations. As a result, the dominant assessment of religion in world affairs, is that the scope and reach … Continue reading “Islam as a political force: more than belief”

Michael Wear is coming to the Cadbury Centre

Michael Wear was one of the youngest-ever White House staffers and has published a book about his years in the world’s most powerful office. The title of his book is Reclaiming Hope. Lessons Learned in the Obama White House about the Future of Faith in America. On 2 March 2017, Michael Wear will come to the University … Continue reading “Michael Wear is coming to the Cadbury Centre”

A ‘British Values’ oath has worrying echoes. There are much better ways to boost integration

  For Catholics, the idea of an “oath for all holders of public office”, which the communities minister Sajid Javid proposed yesterday, has unpleasant connotations. For most of the last 500 years, Catholics were forced onto the margins of society by such measures as the oath of royal supremacy and the Test Act. Still, we … Continue reading “A ‘British Values’ oath has worrying echoes. There are much better ways to boost integration”

The existential war between Islamic State and secular France

The killing of a priest during morning mass at a Catholic church near Rouen on July 26 has sent new shock waves through France – a country which prides itself on its secularism, but in which religion still plays a large part in many communities. The rapid succession of attacks on French soil claimed by … Continue reading “The existential war between Islamic State and secular France”

Christians and Persecution in the West

I want to tackle a rather contentious but to me highly significant issue for British Christianity recently – the issue of the alleged persecution of the church in the West. Let me first go on the record as saying that I find it deeply and sharply offensive that the Western church can even begin to compare the occasional … Continue reading “Christians and Persecution in the West”