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image from here.

This blog post is hopefully an interesting one, as it is both a request for comments and a 'humble-brag'. I'm thrilled to have had a paper proposal accepted for FaithXChange's 2nd Annual Symposium on the Sacred and Secular: Faith and Formation, which is a day conference in January 2015 at Goldsmiths, London. This is a discussion that bridges discipleines - sociology, politics, and theology to name but a few - and so I'd welcome comments on my abstract. I reproduce below my abstract, for a paper I've been working on and thinking about for a while, and am excited to have found an outlet for;

‘For the Bible Tells me so’ - Evangelical faith and the Complexities of Secular Political Engagement

Paper Proposal Submitted for 2nd Annual Symposium on Sacred and Secular: Faith and Formation

Questions of political engagement and social transformation have long been a part of Evangelical Identity, whether it be historical heroes of the movement such as William Wilberforce*, or integral to the vision of one of London’s best known Churches*. Indeed, scholars of Evangelical identity and history identify social action and involvement as being vital to evangelical identity. Yet one of the other key common identifiers of evangelical identity - and, whatever one’s individual view on evangelicalism, it is undoubtedly a numerous constituency - is ‘biblicism’**, the notion that the Bible, interpreted properly and seriously, motivates believers to action. A range of organisations, including but not limited to, ‘CARE’, ‘The Christian Institute’, ‘The Evangelical Alliance’, ‘Christian Concern’ and ‘Oasis’, represent organisations that broadly identify as evangelical and seek to engage in the public square on the basis of their ‘biblically-informed’ worldview.

Evangelicals are marked by their high levels of social engagement, evidenced by statistically high rates of trusteeship of charities*, as well as other involvement in societal concerns. Evangelical Alliance research has explored the ways in which such Christians engage with society - and yet this cannot be understood without some appreciation of the role of the Bible within Christian communities. This paper argues that, in fact, the ‘evangelical’ view of Biblical authority and and function is vital for understanding the way in which this minority/demographic engages with political causes, societal transformation, and the common good. By recognising the disciplines of biblical interpretation, evangelical history and self-identity, as well as statistical research, this paper will seek to explore the extent to which ‘for the Bible tells me so’ is an accurate way to understand evangelical Christian approaches to politics, policy, and practice. Exploring this will provide useful tools for recognising common areas of conflict with secular society, as well as insight into the unique nature of ‘evangelical’ Christian organisations and churches in relation to the status quo.

It is worth mentioning that where I have written '*' after a comment/quote, it refers to a footnote, the various references which I produce below.

Before those reproductions, though, I ask the question. What is this? I am a 'theologian' (of some kind, I do want to be a systematic theologian when I grow up, and then maybe an ethicist), but I dabble in reading politics, sociology, and anthropology. The conference will be interdisciplinary and multi-faith - so how best to form and shape and pitch this paper?

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* Almost two hundred years after his death, Wilberforce remains a figure of fascination, with recent biographies authored by senior Conservative politicians (William Hague; William Wilberforce: The life of the Great Anti-Slave Trade Campaigner, Harper Perennial, London, 2008), and evangelical leaders (Eric Metaxas; Amazing Grace, HarperCollins, New York, 2009; John Piper; Amazing grace in the life of William Wilberforce, IVP, Nottingham, 2007) as well as a recent Hollywood film.

* Holy Trinity Brompton, famed for the Alpha Course, notably has as its vision statement/intent/purpose “the re-evangelisation of the nations and the transformation of society” (HTB Website, http://www.htb.org/about-htb [accessed 14/10/14])

* The best known example of this is arguably David Bebbington’s ‘quadrilateral’, seeking to use the terms crucicentrism, conversionism, and activism, to define what it means to be evangelical. (David Bebbington; Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A history from the 1730’s to the 1980’s, Routledge, London, 1988)

* David Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s, (Routledge, London, 1988), p. 13-14

* Further, 93% of evangelicals ‘strongly agree that the Bible is the inspired word of God’ (Evangelical Alliance, 21st Century Evangelicals, Evangelical Alliance, 2011, p. 5 [http://www.eauk.org/church/resources/snapshot/upload/21st-Century-Evangelicals.pdf - accessed 14/10/14])

* Apparently, “25% [of evangelicals were] trustees of a charity (compared to 2.2% nationally(“ (Evangelical Alliance; Does Belief Touch Society?, Evangelical Alliance, 2011, p. 11 [http://www.eauk.org/church/resources/snapshot/upload/Does-Belief-touch-society.pdf - accessed 14/10/14])

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Thankyou for reading this post. If it has raised any questions or comments, I'd love you to leave a comment, or perhaps connect via Twitter or Facebook.