Ekklesia was a not-for-profit British
think tank
A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...
which examines the role of
religion
Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
on public life and
policy
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an or ...
in the UK.
History
Ekklesia was founded in 2002 by
Jonathan Bartley
Jonathan Charles Bartley (born 16 October 1971) is a British politician who was a Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, a position he shared with Caroline Lucas from 2016 to 2018, ...
and
Simon Barrow.
In September 2002, Ekklesia launched a Sunday programme on BBC Radio Scotland to encourage pacification and minimize violent insurrections in
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
.
In June 2006, Ekklesia launched a campaign advocating for the separation of the role of the church and state in weddings. The think tank argued that the "one size fits all" attempt to fuse religious and civic marriage was a source of great confusion.
In February 2009, the
Bishop of Willesden Pete Broadbent
Peter Alan Broadbent (born 31 July 1952), known as Pete Broadbent, is an English Anglicanism, Anglican bishop. He served as the Bishop of Willesden, an area bishop in the Church of England Diocese of London for twenty years, 2001–2021. Dur ...
called the directors of Ekklesia "self-appointed self-publicists who speak for nobody ... and pretend that they're speaking for mainstream Christianity". In 2010, when the
Christian Concern lobbying group launched the ''Not Ashamed Day'', Ekklesia stated there was no evidence Catholics were being shamed because of their religion. In June 2011,
Symon Hill, a bisexual Christian writer and a director of Ekklesia, embarked on a Birmingham-to-London pilgrimage against homophobia.
In October 2012, Ekklesia, in partnership with Edinburgh City Centre Churches Together, the Cornerstone Bookshop, and the Episcopal Diocese of Edinburgh's Adventures in Faith programme, launched the Centre for Living Christianity (CLiC) to explore religious faith in skeptical times.
In March 2016, Ekklesia organized a group letter to ask the new
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The secretary of state for work and pensions, also referred to as the work and pensions secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Department for Work and P ...
,
Stephen Crabb, to rethink his ministry's position regarding welfare cuts and benefit sanctions.
Jonathan Bartley left the think tank in 2016 and subsequently became co-leader of the
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; ), often known simply as the Green Party or the Greens, is a Green politics, green, Left-wing politics, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ram ...
.
In June 2019, during US President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's official visit to the UK, Simon Barrow called Trump "anti-gospel".
The aspects of Ekklesia as a think-tank and broker of news briefings ceased as of September 2024.
Description
The think tank was financed by donations and the online sale of
fair-trade goods.
See also
*
List of think tanks in the United Kingdom
References
External links
*
Christianity and politics
Faith and theology think tanks based in the United Kingdom
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