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Religion

David Cameron leaves Downing Street for Parliament earlier this evening. Image: Getty

Can Christians still have Holy Matrimony?

5 February 2013 22:52

That’s that then. Marriage will change, one way or another. Progress has won. Cue lots of right-on politicians talking about how proud they are to have ushered in such a… Continue reading

84 Comments
Picture: Getty Images

Will the European court force churches to conduct gay weddings?

5 February 2013 17:21

Would the European Court of Human Rights force churches to conduct same-sex marriages against their will? That’s the professed fear of some opponents of the Same Sex Marriage Bill being… Continue reading

18 Comments
Justin Welby was invested as Archbishop of Canterbury this morning. Image: Getty

Church of England 2.0

4 February 2013 16:47

Welcome Rt Rev Justin Welby, who became the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury this morning at St Pauls. The Church of England’s first tweeting ABC has been a bit quiet online… Continue reading

4 Comments

Video: Debating Richard Dawkins

4 February 2013 8:41

The video of my debate with Richard Dawkins, Rowan Williams and Tariq Ramadan is now available online. Richard Dawkins speaks third, and I speak last.

7 Comments
Image: Getty

Debating Richard Dawkins

2 February 2013 9:59

I spent Thursday evening at the Cambridge Union debating the motion ‘This House believes religion has no place in the 21st century.’ I spoke against the motion. My opponents on… Continue reading

118 Comments
Elvis Presley appears in a dream to Enoch O’Reilly, the "hero" of Peter Murphy's 'Shall We Gather At The River', and Enoch is compelled to become a radiovangelist, albeit one who does not believe in God. Image: Getty

Review – Shall We Gather At The River, by Peter Murphy

24 January 2013 17:09

Shall We Gather At The River is a book of unfortunate endings — the stories of nine suicides hang from a plot-line that tells of a freak flood in the… Continue reading

1 Comment
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has insisted that the government does 'do God'. Picture: Getty

Eric Pickles ‘does God’, but does the government really agree?

15 January 2013 13:56

Personally, I don’t wear a cross, on the basis that I’m not much of an advertisement for Christianity and I’d risk diminishing the brand. But for Eric Pickles, Communities Secretary,… Continue reading

41 Comments
Matt Stone (l) and Trey Parker (r), the creators of Southpark, at a BAFTA gig in Los Angeles. Image: Getty

Scientologists trap us in the closet

12 January 2013 11:17

Whenever I give lectures on my book on censorship – Whaddya mean you haven’t read it? Buy it here at a recession-beating price – I discuss the great issues of… Continue reading

16 Comments
Ang Lee at the UK premier of Life of Pi. Image: Getty

Life of Pi asks questions of man, not God

8 January 2013 10:00

I’m conducting an experiment: Life of Pi concerns a basic metaphor about faith, how is that metaphor rendered in print and on screen? I’ve re-read the book. I’ve deliberately (at this stage)… Continue reading

4 Comments
A stained glass window in St. Catherine's Church, Bethlehem. Image: Getty

Discovering poetry: George Herbert’s ‘Prayer’ and the beauty of holiness

7 January 2013 10:00

‘Prayer’ Prayer the Church’s banquet, angels’ age, God’s breath in man returning to his birth, The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage, The Christian plummet sounding heaven and earth; Engine… Continue reading

1 Comment
Christians are free to practise their faith openly in this country, but many fear increasing persecution. Picture: Getty

Are Christians being persecuted in Britain?

2 January 2013 17:46

Douglas Murray makes a striking point on his Spectator blog about the violent persecution that many Christians face across the globe, while the Church of England fights over gay marriage… Continue reading

106 Comments
Church

Sorry atheists, organised religion works

2 January 2013 16:13

‘I’m spiritual, not religious’ is something people say to make themselves sound interesting. It doesn’t work. What is intriguing, though, is that, according to this new survey, those who see… Continue reading

122 Comments
Gay Marriage Becomes Legal In The UK

A storm of nonsense: gay marriage opponents lose their wits - Spectator Blogs

10 December 2012 13:01

My word, the latest kerfuffle over gay marriage runs the gamut from dumb to dumber. Here, for instance, is Cristina Odone: He may get away with bullying a great many –… Continue reading

33 Comments
Dr Cosmo Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury, leaves Number 10 Downing Street on 6th December 1936 after meeting with Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and other ministers to discuss the abdication crisis. Image: Getty.

Cosmo Lang, his part in Edward VIII’s downfall

10 December 2012 9:30

In December 1936, following the Abdication of Edward VIII, a rhyme circulated about the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Lang: ‘My Lord Archbishop, what a scold you are! And when your… Continue reading

2 Comments
History suggests that if you throw enough bones to this pack of partisan dogs, they'll agree. Image: Getty.

300 years of hating party politics

3 December 2012 9:37

‘Whig and Tory Scratch and Bite’, by Aaron Hill Whig and Tory scratch and bite, Just as hungry dogs we see: Toss a bone ‘twixt two, they fight, Throw a… Continue reading

2 Comments
Justin Welby has been profoundly influenced by the social teaching of a nineteenth century pope, Leo XIII. Image: Getty

Justin Welby’s social conscience

25 November 2012 14:32

One of the things we know about the next Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is that he doesn’t like bankers. Another is that he has given a good deal of… Continue reading

24 Comments
Justin Welby returns to his seat after addressing the General Synod of the Church of England, which includes the House of Laity. Image: Getty

In defence of the CofE’s House of Laity

22 November 2012 11:52

Even friends of an Established church like myself – though I’m a Catholic – should think twice about the wisdom of the idea after the naked political interference in the… Continue reading

40 Comments
Justin Welby returns to his seat after addressing the General Synod of the Church of England, which includes the House of Laity. Image: Getty

The Church of England is becoming a church in England

21 November 2012 9:22

This morning’s newspapers (and indeed the airwaves) are full of apocalyptic predictions about the future of the Church of England. The failure of the General Synod to ordain women bishops has… Continue reading

46 Comments
Wole Soyinka has told the Spectator that Boko Haram, the Islamist group in Nigeria, must be 'destroyed'. Image: Getty

Wole Soyinka: Boko Haram must be destroyed

18 November 2012 17:16

Born in 1934 in Nigeria, Wole Soyinka is the author of more than twenty plays, ten volumes of poetry, two novels, seven collections of essays and five autobiographical works. He… Continue reading

1 Comment

Theocrats, plutocrats, bureaucrats and other enemies of human freedom

18 November 2012 14:32

This is a video of a speech to Oxford Brookes University on freedom and its enemies based on my book on censorship You Can’t Read This Book.

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