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 material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

(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 that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control. Soc ...

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, ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, 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 politics. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism; he defined himself as a Christian ...

'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: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

when Collins used available funds to form the International Defence and Aid Fund to pay legal expenses and look after the families of those being tried for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

for protesting against Apartheid, including

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

. Christian Action became defunct in 1996.

References

Defunct Christian organizations {{Christian-org-stub