Christian Action, founded in 1946, was an inter-church movement dedicated to promoting Christian ideals in society at large.

Canon John Collins Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

(1905-1982) founded the Fellowship of the Transfiguration of Our Lord in 1943, when working as a Royal Air Force chaplain in Wiltshire, which sought in its Rule of Life 'to make the social, economic and political implications of the Gospel effective in local, national and international affairs'. In 1947, the Fellowship was re-founded as Christian Action "to promote Christian involvement in

social issues A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society and ones that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's cont ...

and political life". As Chaplain at

Oriel College Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, w ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

, Collins led a group of students in reading

Victor Gollancz Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing causes. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism, but he defined himself as a Chris ...

's ''Our Threatened Values'' "with a view to seeing whether we might be able to do something to meet the threat and to extend our influence as Christians, not only in our immediate circle, but outwards into the world at large." From 1956 the organisation was particularly associated with the struggle against

Apartheid in South Africa Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid ...

when Collins used available funds to form the

International Defence and Aid Fund The International Defence and Aid Fund or IDAF (also the Defence Aid Fund for Southern Africa) was a fund created by John Collins during the 1956 Treason Trial in South Africa. After learning of those accused of treason for protesting against aparth ...

to pay legal expenses and look after the families of those being tried for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

for protesting against Apartheid, including

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

. Christian Action became defunct in 1996.

References

Christian organizations {{Christian-org-stub