1. Director's opinion piece on the McFarlane v Relate Avon case
'Religious influence on law: a response to Lord Justice Laws', UKSC blog 11 June
2. Director's election and post-election commentaries
- 'The statecraft of the UK Coalition Government':
'Capital Commentary' - US-based Center for Public Justice
- 'Bipartisanship 101, UK style':
'Capital Commentary' - US-based Center for Public Justice
- On electoral reform:'Comment and Debate' section of Theos website
Click here for a rebuttal by human rights lawyer James Collins.
- Reflections on the rise in religous involvement in the election:
3. KLICE staff contribute to special issue of 'Studies in Chistian Ethics', May 2010
The Director has guest edited a special issue of the leading UK journal of Christian ethics containing papers of the colloquium on Nicholas Wolterstorff's book Justice: Rights and Wrongs, held at the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Life last year. The event was co-sponsored by KLICE. Research Associate Joshua Hordern contributes an article - an overview of the book - and also co-wrote the guest editorial with Jonathan Chaplin. Former KLICE Chair Julian Rivers also contributes an article on legal theory, and recent KLICE grantees Andy Draycott and Guido De Graaff write book reviews in the same issue.
4. Recent Guardian postings by Director
On the Westminster Declaration:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/apr/07/religion-christianity
On the Equality Bill:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/feb/24/religion-christianity
5. Director speaks in Parliamentary meetings
The Director gave a response to Bishop Tom Wright's Theos Lecture 'God and Government' held in Portcullis House, Parliament on Wednesday 10 February. The event, sponsored by three MPs and organised by the public theology thinktank Theos, marked the first stage of a joint Theos/KLICE project culminating in the publication of God and Government (SPCK 2009), edited by Nick Spencer and Jonathan Chaplin. Bishop Tom contributes a chapter in the book. Bishop Tom's lecture is also available from the Theos website.
He also made a short presentation during a Briefing meeting on the Equality Bill in the House of Lords, chaired by Lord McKay of Clashfern. Dan Boucher from CARE also spoke, introducing his searching analysis of the Bill, entitled A Little Bit Against Discrimination? (CARE 2010). Several peers present were at the time actively moving amendments to the Bill as it went through the Lords. These amendments were carried a few days later, safeguarding the freedom of religious organisations to hire staff sharing their beliefs and ethos.
6. Publication of 'God and Government'
God and Government, edited by Nick Spencer and Jonathan Chaplin, was published in October 2009. It completes the first phase of a joint project between KLICE and the thinktank Theos (see Projects page). The book aims to make a Christian theology of government available to political practitioners and interested citizens - and so to inform and challenge contemporary political debate.
The Archbishop of Canterbury writes: ‘God and Government offers invaluable resources for what is now a sharply urgent task – thinking through the ethical and spiritual foundations of our democracy’.
Contributors include Bishop Tom Wright, journalist Clifford Longley, former director of the Christian Socialist Movement Andrew Bradstock, economist Philip Booth (Institute of Economic Affairs), and theologian Nigel Wright (Principal of Spurgeon’s College). In the Conclusion to the book Jonathan Chaplin offers a 30-page interpretive commentary on the chapters. The book is published by SPCK at £9.99. For a review article, click here.
A launch event at Parliament, addressed by Bishop Wright, took place in February 2010 attended by over 100.
7. 2008 Book Colloquium papers published
Papers from the 2008 Colloquium, on Advisory Council member Brian Brock’s book Singing the Ethos of God: On the Place of Christian Ethics in Scripture (Eerdmans 2007), have appeared in a special issue of the European Journal of Theology.
Brian Brock is Lecturer in Moral and Pastoral Theology at the University of Aberdeen. The leading American ethicist Stanley Hauerwas described his book as ‘extraordinary’. Find out why by reading the journal - and ordering the book.8. Director speaks in Cambridge Union debate on faith and democracy
Jonathan Chaplin spoke in a debate in the Cambridge Union on 18 November 2009, proposing the motion that 'This House Believes that Faith has an Essential Role in Democratic Debate'. The other proposers were Vivian Wineman, President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, Assistant General Secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain. For further details see pp24-5 of the Michaelmas termcard.
9. KLICE sponsors international evangelical response to latest papal encyclical
KLICE is one of three organisations sponsoring a widely-endorsed evangelical appreciation of Pope Benedict XVI’s latest encyclical letter on global economic development. KLICE Director Jonathan Chaplin was a member of the drafting committee. The statement, entitled ‘Doing the Truth in Love: An evangelical call for response to Caritas in Veritate’ is available here. The statement appeared in the September/October 2009 issue of Books and Culture and also at First Things. A press release is available here. The two other sponsoring organisations are Cardus (Canada) and the Center for Public Justice (USA). UK signatories include Andrew Hartropp (KLICE Advisory Council member), Elaine Storkey (Tearfund), Michael Schluter (Relationships Foundation International), Peter Heslam (Transforming Business) and Joel Edwards (Micah Challenge International). A follow-up conference (by invitation) takes place at The Marketplace Institute, Regent College, Vancouver, next April.