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Theos is a public theology think tank. We undertake research and provide commentary on social and political arrangements. Our aim is to change the climate of opinion about the role of faith and belief in society.
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New Theos Report: The Politics of Christmas Christmas is about spending time with family and friends… at least that is what the vast majority of us think. Yet, this safe, domestic Christmas was largely an invention of the Victorians. The Christmas stories themselves as told in Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels are far less peaceful and far more unsettling.
In the latest Theos report, The Politics of Christmas, author Stephen Holmes argues that contrary to our popular modern understanding of the festival, the Christmas story is in fact highly politicised. Economic exploitation, imperial oppression, social stigma, petty tyranny: are all in the sights of a story in which God himself is born into a poor, vulnerable and somewhat unorthodox family unit.
Holmes concludes that Christmas must undoubtedly be a time for family and generosity, but it should also be a moment when we hear and attend to the Bible’s message of justice and freedom for all.
Theos gives parliamentary evidence on House of Lords Reform Bill
Elizabeth Hunter, Director of Theos, gave evidence this week to the Joint Committee on House of Lords Reform. Theos’ oral evidence can be viewed here, beginning at around 1:05:00 and Theos’ written evidence to the Committee can be read here.
Sitting alongside Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association, and following Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, Elizabeth argued that while a clear religious presence in British public life was essential to the democratic health of the nation, that presence should not necessarily be limited to Church of England bishops.
A short press release about the committee is available to read here. Theos report on the subject, Coming off the Bench: The past, present and future of religious representation in the House of Lords, is also available for free download on our website.
Theos Annual Lecture 2011: Morality and Warfare Today
The Theos Annual Lecture was given on the 8th November by General Lord Richard Dannatt at One Birdcage Walk, and chaired by BBC defense correspondent, Caroline Wyatt. General Lord Dannatt spoke to the title “The Battle for Heart’s and Minds: Morality and Warfare Today” and argued that moral and even the spiritual dimensions of warfare are just as crucial as their strategic and operational counterparts.
A full transcript of his speech is available for download here. Selected press coverage of the event can be read here: Guardian Scotsman CSMonitor GuardianBelief.
Faith Hope and Charity, is the Church Addicted to the Welfare State?
On Thursday 17th November, Phillip Booth (Cass Business School/Institute of Economic Affairs), Gavin Shuker (Member of Parliament for Luton South), the Rt Rev Tim Stevens (Bishop of Leicester) and Jill Kirby (writer, policy analyst and former Director of the Centre for Policy Studies) debated the relationship between the church and the welfare state at an event in Parliament.
The debate was chaired by BBC journalist Edward Stourton, and prompted a lively debate on whether the church’s mandate to care for the poor could be met through supporting a stronger welfare state. A podcast of the event is available to download.
This event built on the recent Theos report, Turbulent Priests?, which examines the political activity of Archbishops of Canterbury since 1980. To read the report in full, click here.
What is Christmas Really About?
Turn the clock back a few centuries, and European celebrations of Christmas were deeply entwined with local political realities. Christmas was a season of misrule, a time when normal relationships of power and privilege were reversed, and peasants were elected to take the role of Lord of the manor, able to dispense goods and pass laws. Probably, this is best read as a safety-valve which served to preserve the status quo, rather than as an enacted challenge to the social order. It was political, though.
Today in Britain, the defining image of Christmas is the family feast with doors closed against the troubling world outside. Christmas is a celebration of nuclear family, with any political or economic questions placed firmly outside the closed and barred doors. Christmas is the one time of year when the political debate falls silent. We don’t do politics at Christmas. But should we? What do you think? Join the debate!
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