Two approaches dominate current debates about faith in public life, says Ekklesia director Simon Barrow. One is the assertive voice of organised religion defending faith-based schools and questioning cultural freedom. The other resides in critics who see religious expression only as a problem.
This is a deeply unproductive antagonism. The extremes simply egg each other on. Rather than enriching us with a range of perspectives, they retrench us into “competitive grievances” based on narrow interpretations of identity.