Blogs

Comedy as Protest

sat·ire

[ˈsatʌɪə]

noun

the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues:

Refugee Week 2024- Call to action!

This week is Refugee Week, and it so happens that this year it is falling right in the middle of the general election campaigns. So, here is your call to action: write to your local candidates!  Using the email template attached, write to your local candidates and encourage them to prioritise the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in their campaign. This email template was created from a workshop we ran with Exeter SCM, on the themes of standing up for refugees and asylum seekers. The discussions we had informed the creation of this template for you to use.

Voting: A Brief History of Theology and Democracy

            Democracy is a concept that many of us take for granted, especially those of us who live in the West. Each year the Economist releases their democracy index that provides a full report on the state of democracy around the world. According to their 2023 report, 45.4% of the world live in a democracy, and 39.4% live under some form of authoritarian rule. They conclude that only 7.8% of people live in a full democracy after the US was downgraded to a flawed democracy in 2016.

Subsidiarity and Local Politics

In last week’s Christian Political Action podcast I spoke to Revd Luke Larner about his experience as a priest in the Church of England, practical theology, trade unions, and more. While speaking to Luke about his work in the Church as a priest, his PhD, and trade unions, the thing that stood out to me was his emphasis on the practical and the local. I agree with Luke that much of theology, even theology which calls itself practical theology, remains detached from the material contexts that people find themselves in.