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Research


Below is a list of research papers, reports and other publications from Ekklesia dating back to 2004. Click on the title for more information on each publication, and a link through to the item itself where available. You might also like to sign up for our award winning weekly research bulletin which will ensure you are kept up-to-date with the very latest research from Ekklesia.

 

  • 15 Dec 2012
    Change and challenge across the Middle East and North Africa Region

    The threshold of the second anniversary of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) uprisings that started in Tunisia on 17 December 2010 provides an opportune time to assess the many challenges being negotiated across this vast region, with particular attention to recent developments. This paper by Dr Harry Hagopian is divided into two parts. First, there is an overview focusing specifically on developments in Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Iraq and Syria. Second, there are some critical perspectives on the overall situation of the region, looking at history and boundaries; the use and misuse of power; security and risk; the time needed for change; the issue of inclusion and fundamental rights; the dual role of the media; and the responsibility of the world comity.

  • 15 Nov 2012
    Opinion poll: religious selection or discrimination in school admissions

    Nearly three-quarters of the British public (73%) agree that ‘state funded schools, including state funded faith schools, should not be allowed to select or discriminate against prospective pupils on religious grounds in their admissions policy’, according to a professional opinion poll conducted by the ComRes organisation on behalf of the Accord Coalition for inclusive education - of which Ekklesia is a founding member.

  • 10 Nov 2012
    Reimagining Remembrance

    Remembrance Day needs to be re-imagined in more hopeful, truthful, meaningful and inclusive ways for future generations, says this report commissioned by Ekklesia. That would include an honest if painful acknowledgement that some do “die in vain”, an end to “selective remembrance”, a positive stress on peacemaking, and making Armistice Day a public holiday. The report, originally published in 2009, followed the death of the 'last Tommy', Harry Patch from World War 1, who sadly described current patterns of Remembrance Day as “just show business”. Remembrance has been ‘cheapened’ by a failure to back up words with action, particularly when it comes to successive governments' inadequate care for war veterans, but also -- vitally -- the lack of serious resources put into peacebuilding. The report traces the development of Britain’s remembrance tradition and makes a series of proposals about how Remembrance Day might be positively developed. It also includes reflection on the meaning and practice of 'memory', not least from a Christian theological standpoint.

  • 27 Oct 2012
    Journey towards acceptance: theologians and same-sex love

    There are too many Christians today – both for and against full inclusion of partnered LGBT people – who have little awareness of the debates that have taken place in theological circles over the past sixty years, and the process by which so many theologians today have come to support greater inclusion. Some seem to believe that calls for acceptance in the church are based on embracing society’s values (at least in parts of the world where same-sex relationships are by and large accepted) and ignoring those aspects of the Bible and church tradition that do not fit. This is regarded as a mark of either faithlessness or progress, depending on people’s own views on the subject.

    However this does not in any way do justice to the considered work of most theologians who have argued the case for greater inclusion, drawing deeply on the witness of the Bible and the church through the ages, to discern how God has been and is at work in a complex and constantly changing world. Moreover it makes it harder to find common ground to enable fellowship and dialogue among those with different views, and promote mutual understanding even if disagreement persists.

    In this paper, Savi Hensman gives a detailed overview of some of the most significant affirmative theological work on same-sex love and the Christian tradition. She demonstrates the unhelpful and simplistic positing of a straightforward 'conservative versus liberal' divide on these issues, and draws on Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, Reformed, Quaker and Anabaptist/Mennonite thinkers.

  • 27 Oct 2012
    Should equal marriage be rejected or celebrated by Christians?

    The possibility of opening up marriage in Britain by law to same-sex couples has been criticised by some Christians but welcomed by others. One of the more thoughtful critics is theologian John Milbank, who has eloquently expressed some common arguments against change. This response by Savi Hensman suggests that, while he raises important issues, his analysis is ultimately flawed. Taking into account such topics as tradition, sexual ‘complementarity’, childbearing and sacrament, there is a strong case for equal marriage.