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Along with Ekklesia associate Carla J. Roth (who has a special interest in legally-related church and society issues), I am attending the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland meeting in Edinburgh this week, both as a media representative and also in a networking capacity.
Very frequently, discourse about religion - which, with the changes in perception taking place in the world over the past decade has come back onto the global and political agenda with great force - remains stuck in a series of un-enlightening polarities.
The Occupy camp outside St Pauls cathedral with banners quoting biblical passages highlights the changing use of the Bible in a post-Christendom context.
From my point of view, one of the major stories from 2011 has to be the growth of the Occupy movement - which in many places, not least London, has shown itself to be more than a ragged protest. Rather, it is a movement looking to make a sustained, subversive impact on our dominant political and economic processes.