Scottish Baptist and Catholics seek alternatives to ‘secular’ media

-06/07/06

Baptist


Scottish Baptist and Catholics seek alternatives to ‘secular’ media

-06/07/06

Baptists in Scotland are among those planning to establish the countryís first evangelical-oriented media office, reports The Baptist Times.

Some 30 people recently attended an open meeting chaired by Baptist Union of Scotland general director, the Rev Bill Slack, to examine how the project could be taken forward.

ìChristians in Scotland have felt for some time that the secular media does not properly reflect or represent the churches,î declared Mr Slack.

He continued: ìHowever, it is not enough just to sit back and complain. Our own evangelical media office would allow us to both respond to events as they happen and to be pro-active in helping set the agenda.î

Those involved in the initiative say that finance will be difficult and that disagreements among Christians (which can be quite deep and vituperative) present a big challenge on ìcontroversial issuesî.

But an unexpected form of ecumenism ñ which may prove unpopular amongst the militant Protestant lobby ñ was signalled by the participation of a senior Roman Catholic in the meeting.

Peter Kearney, media officer to the Scottish Catholic Bishops, commented: ìAt the last government census, over 72 per cent of the population defined their religion as Christian, yet the media does not reflect that number. More people go to church in Scotland once a week than to the cinema and football matches combined.î

He added: ìI believe an evangelical media office would be a major asset and it could work with other denominations such as ourselves, to better present the Christian voice to Scotland.î

Recent reports and studies from academic and church sources have suggested a dramatic decline in active Christian affiliation in Scotland, as in other parts of the UK – in spite of the persistence of a cultural identification with the label.

Meanwhile, explicit secularists and humanists in Scotland, a small but vocal minority, take a very different ñ often diametrically opposite ñ view of the impact of faith in the public arena.

A member of the National Secular Society recently wrote to the Herald newspaper to complain about the undue influence the churches exercise in relation to government ñ and specifically at the way government ministers have been courting them.

Such developments are a ìclassic expression of what happens when the old Christendom consensus is breaking downî, according to the UK Christian think tank Ekklesia ñ which argues that an antagonistic ìpersecution complexî has been developing among both religionists and secularists as the traditional influence of faith declines, and as it tries to reassert itself in new ways ñ some of them sectarian or aggressive.

In Faith and Politics After Christendom Ekklesia co-director Jonathan Bartley charts the rise and crisis of ëimperial religioní from the earlier, radical Jesus movement ñ and the diverse, often contradictory, attempts by Christians and other faith communities to engage the political arena.

Ekklesia argues that a greater separation of church and state is healthy both for society and for faith communities, that exemplary witness and participation from the margins is the best way forward for Christians, and that fear of ëthe secularí arises from a ìdualistic theologyî.


Scottish Baptist and Catholics seek alternatives to ‘secular’ media

-06/07/06

Baptists in Scotland are among those planning to establish the countryís first evangelical-oriented media office, reports The Baptist Times.

Some 30 people recently attended an open meeting chaired by Baptist Union of Scotland general director, the Rev Bill Slack, to examine how the project could be taken forward.

ìChristians in Scotland have felt for some time that the secular media does not properly reflect or represent the churches,î declared Mr Slack.

He continued: ìHowever, it is not enough just to sit back and complain. Our own evangelical media office would allow us to both respond to events as they happen and to be pro-active in helping set the agenda.î

Those involved in the initiative say that finance will be difficult and that disagreements among Christians (which can be quite deep and vituperative) present a big challenge on ìcontroversial issuesî.

But an unexpected form of ecumenism ñ which may prove unpopular amongst the militant Protestant lobby ñ was signalled by the participation of a senior Roman Catholic in the meeting.

Peter Kearney, media officer to the Scottish Catholic Bishops, commented: ìAt the last government census, over 72 per cent of the population defined their religion as Christian, yet the media does not reflect that number. More people go to church in Scotland once a week than to the cinema and football matches combined.î

He added: ìI believe an evangelical media office would be a major asset and it could work with other denominations such as ourselves, to better present the Christian voice to Scotland.î

Recent reports and studies from academic and church sources have suggested a dramatic decline in active Christian affiliation in Scotland, as in other parts of the UK – in spite of the persistence of a cultural identification with the label.

Meanwhile, explicit secularists and humanists in Scotland, a small but vocal minority, take a very different ñ often diametrically opposite ñ view of the impact of faith in the public arena.

A member of the National Secular Society recently wrote to the Herald newspaper to complain about the undue influence the churches exercise in relation to government ñ and specifically at the way government ministers have been courting them.

Such developments are a ìclassic expression of what happens when the old Christendom consensus is breaking downî, according to the UK Christian think tank Ekklesia ñ which argues that an antagonistic ìpersecution complexî has been developing among both religionists and secularists as the traditional influence of faith declines, and as it tries to reassert itself in new ways ñ some of them sectarian or aggressive.

In Faith and Politics After Christendom Ekklesia co-director Jonathan Bartley charts the rise and crisis of ëimperial religioní from the earlier, radical Jesus movement ñ and the diverse, often contradictory, attempts by Christians and other faith communities to engage the political arena.

Ekklesia argues that a greater separation of church and state is healthy both for society and for faith communities, that exemplary witness and participation from the margins is the best way forward for Christians, and that fear of ëthe secularí arises from a ìdualistic theologyî.