In depth | Evangelicals Now

Just 13% of 'Christian nationalists' attend church weekly

Lydia Houghton

Only 13% of a group described as "Christian nationalists" attend church weekly, despite 81% of them stating a Christian affiliation and 45% being "very concerned" about the decline of Christianity.

The data comes from think tank Theos, which, for its recent report Beyond "Christian Nationalism", surveyed 1,765 UK adults about the "perceived (and desired) relationship between Christianity and Britishness".

Churchill & Arday: Double standards?

David Shepherd

In 1898, the young Winston Churchill rode with the 21st Lancers at Omdurman, later describing the charge as a desperate struggle for survival in a "whirling melee of death".

In My Early Life (1930), he portrayed himself as a fearless cavalry officer cutting through enemy ranks while bullets flew around him. He painted a similar picture of his service on the North-West Frontier of India, presenting himself as a calm and decisive officer, while under intense enemy fire.

Responding to racism

Ryan Burton King

“I’m not a racist.” My observation is that if this were in fact the case, such protest would be unnecessary. I have learned to brace for what inevitably and almost immediately follows.

Seldom however, are these the first words spoken. Various thoughts and reflections slowly simmer and are finally brought to the boil of whatever "controversial" words apparently require this disclaimer. Indeed, the door of the conversation often bears no resemblance to this hinge on which it opens, or the grim hallway beyond.

Keller: systemic racism is real

Iain Taylor

'Institutional racism' is real, says Tim Keller, former senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.

The internationally-known pastor, writer and speaker, who was diagnosed last year with pancreatic cancer, was speaking out about the controversial racial analysis tool known as Critical Race Theory (CRT).

Church leaders condemn racism report

Iain Taylor / Joel Edwards / Christian Today

Black Church leaders have expressed their disappointment – and anger – over the government-instigated Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report, which was prompted by last year’s Black Lives Matter protests.

The charge was led by former General Director of the Evangelical Alliance and Commissioner of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, Joel Edwards. Speaking exclusively to Evangelicals Now, Edwards expressed his ‘deep annoyance and disappointment’ with the report, which he believed ‘was politically naïve and provocative’ and ended up simply ‘kow-towing to Conservatism’.

Racial stereotyping and the church of Jesus Christ

David Shepherd

I know that we all have our crosses to bear, but can I ask for prayer on behalf of me and so many others involved in public ministry.

Even for lay members of the church, St Paul established a high bar of unimpeachable integrity when he wrote: ‘Giving no offence in anything, that the ministry be not blamed’ (2 Cor. 6:3). Therefore, how much higher are the moral standards required of ministers of the gospel.

politics & policy

Wake up to hate crime

James Mildred

Here’s a term you’ll hear plenty of in 2021: hate crimes.

It’s a slippery term and means lots of different things to lots of different people. It can be just as easily weaponised by those on the left as by those on the right. For some, there’s no such thing. For others, hate crimes are happening every moment of every day and we need to use the laws of the land to make it stop.

We must tackle racism, say C of E evangelicals

EN

Evangelicals in the Church of England are urging Christians to think more deeply about racial issues.

The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) has launched a suite of video resources aimed at getting congregations to think biblically about how they can become more racially aware, sensitive and inclusive.

Tears shed for racism 65 years ago

MD Public Relations

Tears were shed during a service where a church minister publicly apologised to a member of the Windrush Generation who, 65 years ago, was told not to come back after attending a service at St Paul’s in Clapham, south London.

Pentecostal minister The Revd Carmel Jones, then a 17-year-old boy recently arrived from Jamaica, went to the local Anglican Church. At the end of the service on his third visit to the church, the minister thanked him for coming – but asked him not to return.

Culture watching

Racism, brutality and our need of redemption

Sarah Allen

We’ve had a Spring and Summer of few new film releases and re-runs on TV so, perhaps like you, my screen time has been largely filled with catching up on films I’d always meant to see but never quite round to. Roma is one of those, and I’m really, really glad that I did put it on.

Made in 2018, Roma is a beautiful, black-and-white film set in Mexico. The restrained aesthetic and the film’s simple focus, following the life of a maid to a middle-class family over 12 months in 1970-1, still allows for real charm and an overwhelming emotional impact. And, in many ways, the film speaks into our current conversations about race and privilege with a distinct voice. So, don’t let the subtitles and the lack of colour put you off. Roma may be an artistic film, but it isn’t an inaccessible ‘arty’ one. It tells a compelling, even epic, story.

Saudis tell UN that Muslim prejudice is ‘racism’

Barnabas Fund

Saudi Arabia has called the United Nations to focus on ‘eliminating Islamophobia’ as an outworking of tackling online racism and xenophobia.

Meshaal Bin Ali Al Balawi, Saudi’s Head of Human Rights at the United Nations Mission in Geneva, addressed the Human Rights Council, flagging the internet as a ‘space for practicing racism’ as he called for the UN to work towards finding a ‘solution’. The Saudi leader stated that the world needs to ‘prohibit racial discrimination in all its forms’.

Think you’re not racially biased? Really?

David Baker

Recently I managed to shock myself in a way which unsettled me.

A screenshot of an online video discussion flashed up on Facebook and I looked to see who the participants were, as the subject being talked about was of interest to me.

In Depth: racism