Tory leader follows church on hoodie love and faith-based welfare
-11/07/06
In a speec
Tory leader follows church on hoodie love and faith-based welfare
-11/07/06
In a speech widely leaked some 48 hours before it was finally delivered yesterday, Conservative Party leader David Cameron echoed the earlier plea of Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu in calling on people to show some respect towards inner-city ëhoodieí wearing kids ñ and suggesting an expansion of faith-based welfare.
Addressing the Centre for Social Justice established by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, Mr Cameron moved from ìflog íem to snog íemî, said one tabloid paper. His ìhug-a-hoodieî creed called for ìmore loveî towards youngsters stereotyped as criminals-waiting-to-happen.
But Mr Cameronís big idea is nearly two-and-a-half months old, policy watchers observe. Speaking at a conference on church youth work at the beginning of May 2006, the Anglican Archbishop of York urged the public not to judge teenagers by their choice of fashion ñ and joined them by donning a fashionable one-piece red jacket and hood.
“Ninety-nine per cent of those who wear hoodies are law-abiding citizens,” declared Dr Sentamu, the Church of Englandís first black archbishop, talking to 150 teenagers and 500 adults at Bradford Grammar School in West Yorkshire.
“In a rapidly changing culture, many are bewildered about how to communicate with young people,” the Archbishop commented at the time.
Childrenís charities and welfare groups welcomed Mr Cameronís message of compassion yesterday, while warning that inclusive policies were needed, not just rhetoric.
And commentators also pointed out that Labour PM Tony Blair had got there first with his ìtough loveî slogans ñ which the Tory leader seemed to be following during a speech later in the day to the Police Foundation.
There he declared: ìThe [public] want the police to be crime fighters, not form writersÖa force as well as a service.î
Meanwhile, at the Centre for Social Justice, where Iain Duncan Smithís interlocutors include socialist Christian academic-turned-activist Bob Holman, Mr Cameron said that policy, faith and charity groups should be brought in to turn around young offenders, because the state had failed. His proposal was for a new, volunteer-based youth scheme with public backing.
Both Labour and the Tories are currently making a big pitch for ëfaith-based welfareí, in what the UK Christian think tank Ekklesia ñ which warns of the dangers of such a move for both parties ñ has called a ënew dealí between religious communities and the government.
Ekklesiaís co-director Jonathan Bartley, in his new book Faith and Politics After Christendom, argues that the era of the symbiotic relationship between church and state is ending, and that faith communities should now seek a creative, radical role in civil society ñ rather than trying to grab governing power and position for themselves.
Bartley argues that the Christian message of peace, justice and equality should not be sacrificed for convenience, and that the government should not farm out services to voluntary groups in a way that bypasses the civil and political rights of those most in need.
Faith and Politics After Christendom will be launched and discussed at a reception organised by the Westminster Forum on Thursday 13 June 2006, 6.30pm, at St Matthew’s House, 20 Great Peter Street, London SW1P 2BU. For an invitation, write to: [email protected].
[Also on Ekklesia: Don’t judge kids on hoodies, says redcap church leader; Tory leadership candidate attacks Christian agency on trade justice; Tory leader accused of snubbing Scottish Catholic Cardinal; Cameron and Blair offered ‘Punch and Judy’ workshop; BBC’s Tory leader TV trail thwarted by Jesus; Mixed aid agency reaction to Blair G8 poverty pledge panel; BNP exploit racist fears and ‘Christian country’ claims; Government plans reopen debate on faith schools]
Tory leader follows church on hoodie love and faith-based welfare
-11/07/06
In a speech widely leaked some 48 hours before it was finally delivered yesterday, Conservative Party leader David Cameron echoed the earlier plea of Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu in calling on people to show some respect towards inner-city ëhoodieí wearing kids ñ and suggesting an expansion of faith-based welfare.
Addressing the Centre for Social Justice established by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, Mr Cameron moved from ìflog íem to snog íemî, said one tabloid paper. His ìhug-a-hoodieî creed called for ìmore loveî towards youngsters stereotyped as criminals-waiting-to-happen.
But Mr Cameronís big idea is nearly two-and-a-half months old, policy watchers observe. Speaking at a conference on church youth work at the beginning of May 2006, the Anglican Archbishop of York urged the public not to judge teenagers by their choice of fashion ñ and joined them by donning a fashionable one-piece red jacket and hood.
“Ninety-nine per cent of those who wear hoodies are law-abiding citizens,” declared Dr Sentamu, the Church of Englandís first black archbishop, talking to 150 teenagers and 500 adults at Bradford Grammar School in West Yorkshire.
“In a rapidly changing culture, many are bewildered about how to communicate with young people,” the Archbishop commented at the time.
Childrenís charities and welfare groups welcomed Mr Cameronís message of compassion yesterday, while warning that inclusive policies were needed, not just rhetoric.
And commentators also pointed out that Labour PM Tony Blair had got there first with his ìtough loveî slogans ñ which the Tory leader seemed to be following during a speech later in the day to the Police Foundation.
There he declared: ìThe [public] want the police to be crime fighters, not form writersÖa force as well as a service.î
Meanwhile, at the Centre for Social Justice, where Iain Duncan Smithís interlocutors include socialist Christian academic-turned-activist Bob Holman, Mr Cameron said that policy, faith and charity groups should be brought in to turn around young offenders, because the state had failed. His proposal was for a new, volunteer-based youth scheme with public backing.
Both Labour and the Tories are currently making a big pitch for ëfaith-based welfareí, in what the UK Christian think tank Ekklesia ñ which warns of the dangers of such a move for both parties ñ has called a ënew dealí between religious communities and the government.
Ekklesiaís co-director Jonathan Bartley, in his new book Faith and Politics After Christendom, argues that the era of the symbiotic relationship between church and state is ending, and that faith communities should now seek a creative, radical role in civil society ñ rather than trying to grab governing power and position for themselves.
Bartley argues that the Christian message of peace, justice and equality should not be sacrificed for convenience, and that the government should not farm out services to voluntary groups in a way that bypasses the civil and political rights of those most in need.
Faith and Politics After Christendom will be launched and discussed at a reception organised by the Westminster Forum on Thursday 13 June 2006, 6.30pm, at St Matthew’s House, 20 Great Peter Street, London SW1P 2BU. For an invitation, write to: [email protected].
[Also on Ekklesia: Don’t judge kids on hoodies, says redcap church leader; Tory leadership candidate attacks Christian agency on trade justice; Tory leader accused of snubbing Scottish Catholic Cardinal; Cameron and Blair offered ‘Punch and Judy’ workshop; BBC’s Tory leader TV trail thwarted by Jesus; Mixed aid agency reaction to Blair G8 poverty pledge panel; BNP exploit racist fears and ‘Christian country’ claims; Government plans reopen debate on faith schools]