Ekklesia is a think tank that promotes fresh forms of thought - without relying on tanks. In an interview with SCM, Simon Barrow explains what the deal is with post-Christendom and how to respond to the fuss about religion.

Chaplains in the public sphere can play an important role in offering spiritual and pastoral support, says Andrew Copson. But they must be open to all, including the non-religious, who are unfairly marginalised in current arrangements.

Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has said that those close to the Bush administration in the USA who want military action against Syria and Iran are guilty of “criminal, ignorant and potentially murderous folly”. He urged peaceful stabilisation in Iraq.

Tens of thousands of people from a variety of religious traditions across the United States are preparing to fast on Monday 8 October 2007, as part of an initiative to pray and work for peace in Iraq. Non-religious persons will also join them.

These days, it can so easily feel as if religion is an anti-democratic force in our polity, writes Giles Fraser. No one votes for Bishops in the House of Lords, for example. So it's worth remembering that in this country, as indeed in many others too, religion was the nursemaid of democracy.

The key role of a long spiritual heritage of disciplined and creative non-violence should not be ignored as a factor in current attempts to overthrow brutal dictatorship in Burma, says Gene Stoltzfus, a founder of Christian Peacemaker Teams.

One of the more intriguing aspects of Gordon Brown's first Labour party conference speech as serving prime minister was his decision to use consciously biblical language as part of his argument against those employing religious rhetoric to oppose his family policy.

Protests from secular and teaching groups have met an announcement by the government that many more faith-based schools are to be brought into the state-funded sector with a pledge to remove "unnecessary barriers" to religious groups.