Category - patriotism

Storm over Queen and country school citizenship proposals

staff writers — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:26:16 +0000

Lord Goldsmith, speaking for the government citizenship review, walked into a backlash today over proposals that school-leavers should be encouraged to swear an oath of allegiance to Queen and country.

Chinese Protestants emphasise autonomy and nation-building

Ecumenical News International — Tue, 01 May 2007 08:13:17 +0000

A leading figure in the official Chinese Protestant Church has emphasised autonomy and patriotism as two of its main values. But he claims the church is not subservinet to the state and is able to carry out its Christian mission.

Slaying the dragons of religious and racial intolerance

Giles Fraser — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 00:42:30 +0000

Saint George needs to be reclaimed from the Crusaders for a world where healing is needed in place of conflict, says Giles Fraser.

St George is patron saint of dissenters, says think-tank

staff writers — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 07:06:33 +0000

St George isn't about jingoism, he's a global figure who took on empire and backed persecuted minorities, says a new report from Ekklesia - which wants 23 April to be a public holiday celebrating dissenters.

When the Saints Go Marching Out: Redefining St George for a new era

Simon Barrow — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 06:33:59 +0000

This paper proposes that the figure of St George should be reclaimed according to his true, hidden story – as a dissenter against the abuse of power, a contrast to religious crusades, a global figure we share with other nations, someone who offered hospitality to the vulnerable, and a champion of right rather than might.

It proposes that St George’s Day should be re-branded as a national day to celebrate an English contribution to the history of dissent – the witness of people like the abolitionists, the suffragettes and those who have sought to combat racism, nationalism, debt, poverty, colonialism and war with the vision of a nation and world open to all.

For the churches, we believe, St George can be a post-Christendom saint. He is a Christian figure, but he does not ‘belong’ to Christians. However, in his faithful nonconformity he invites the churches to become better servants of Jesus by abandoning reliance on a romanticised past and (in the case of the Church of England) a legacy of Establishment privilege – and seeking a better way.

[An (earlier version) *.PDF of the report below is also available here]

Ekklesia Staff

Christians in Japan challenge 'patriotic' law

staff writers — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:17:42 +0000

Christians in Japan say the government has debased the country's peace-seeking constitution after the upper chamber of parliament approved the promotion of patriotism in the classroom by changing the country's education law - writes Hisashi Yukimoto for Ecumenical News International.