Fury as David Cameron claims Jesus founded his Big Society crusade

Venturing further afield than the one newspaper of which I am so clearly a faithful reader, here's  a piece from today's Daily Mirror:

Fury as David Cameron claims Jesus founded his Big Society crusade

David Cameron faced a furious backlash last night after claiming Jesus was the original founder of the Big Society.

His remark – made to Christians at a Downing Street reception – provoked astonishment among religious leaders, charities and politicians.

Labour MP and former ­Anglican vicar Chris Bryant said: “It’s ­ludicrous and offensive for ­Cameron to try to recruit Jesus to the Tory cause

“He is just using decent people in the church and charities to mask the unfair way he’s cutting services for the vulnerable.”

Mr Cameron told church leaders they would be “absolutely right” to claim Jesus founded the Big Society 2,000 years ago, joking: “I’m not saying we’ve invented some great new idea here.”

He added: “One of the best things about our country is that people step forward as individuals, as families, as ­communities, as ­organisations, as churches, and do extraordinary things... helping to build a ­bigger, richer, more prosperous, more generous ­society. And all I’m saying is, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we did more of that?’”

But Jonathan Bartley, director of Christian think-tank Ekklesia, said Mr Cameron’s brutal cuts ­programme was attacking the poor and the weak – and would not have had Jesus’s support.

“Jesus’s harshest words were reserved for those who had wealth and power and who failed to protect the most vulnerable,” he said.

A senior Labour source added: “We know politicians like a big-name endorsement but this seems to be going a bit far.”

FEARS OVER CENSUS SECURITY FUEL BOYCOTT THREATS

Eight days to go before the Census on Sunday 27 March. Debate, discussion, dissension and protests continue. Here's a piece from today's Guardian.

Fears over census security fuel boycott threats

Backlash against £150m contract for US arms firm

Law professor dismisses worth of data safeguards

By Matthew Taylor

A growing number of people are planning to boycott this year's census amid increasing fears about data security and the involvement of arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

Many campaigners are angry that the £150m contract to run the census has been awarded to the American arms company while others claim the legal safeguards in place to prevent breaches in data security are "so flimsy as to be useless".

Chris Browne, from the Count Me Out campaign, said: "The more people who find out about the involvement of the world's largest arms producer in our census, the more civil dissent we will witness, and the bigger the campaign will get."

Protesters held a day of e-action today in which people were urged to swamp Lockheed Martin a "Twitter storm" and email messages detailing the minutiae of their day. Hundreds more are expected to take part in protests across the country on Saturday, with many saying they are willing to risk a criminal record and a £1,000 fine by refusing to fill in the 32-page questionnaire.

"I have no objection to the census itself because I recognise that it has served an important purpose historically," said Emma Draper, an anti-arms trade campaigner from London: "However, I think it is outrageous that the government can get away with paying a huge arms company millions of pounds in order to process data which is supposed to be of benefit to public services and people's welfare."

Lockheed Martin, which makes Trident nuclear missiles and F-16 fighter jets, won the £150m contract in 2008. A spokesman for the Office of National Statistics defended the company's involvement, stating it was "a major supplier of non-defence-related services for the public sector".

An ONS spokesman said: "The contract for census processing was awarded to Lockheed Martin UK – not Lockheed Martin US – in August 2008. Lockheed Martin UK offered best value for money in an open procurement under European law and the EU procurement directives were satisfied."

Symon Hill, writer and associate director of Christian thinktank Ekklesia, said many people remained unhappy about the decision and that he would be among those not be filling out the census. "Lockheed Martin is a company that has armed dictatorships around the world that has played a heavy role in the disastrous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq... I have reflected at great length. I have not taken this decision lightly but I feel that being asked to fill in the census is being asked to co-operate with an arms company and, as a Christian and as a pacifist, that is something that I feel I can not do in conscience."

Data from the census forms, which need to be completed by 27 March, is sent to a secure plant in Manchester and then to Titchfeld, Hampshire, for analysis. It is owned by ONS and a spokesman said it remains confidential for 100 years.

The government uses the information to award billions of pounds in grants and a boycott would cause widespread policy and funding difficulties. Councils would be hit hardest, potentially missing out on hundreds of millions of pounds if large numbers of people are not counted.

A spokesman for the ONS said: "The census ... is a unique snapshot of the population on a single day and is vital for your local community."

Lockheed Martin does more than 60% of its work for the US defence department and assists more than two dozen American government agencies. It is also reportedly involved in surveillance and data processing for the CIA and the FBI.

Campaigners fear that because it is a US company and therefore subject to the Patriot Act, which allows the US government access to any data in its possession, US authorities could have access to personal data on the UK's entire population.

The ONS has dismissed this claim, stating: "Under the contractual and operational arrangements we have put in place, no employees of Lockheed Martin UK or of its US parent or of any other US company will be able to access personal census data. The US Patriot Act could not therefore, be used to access such data." The spokesman added that a recent independent review had declared: "the public can be assured that the information they provide to the 2011 census will be well protected and securely managed".

Douwe Korff, professor of international law at London Metropolitan University, has questioned the security arrangements, warning that the "legal safeguards against breaches of confidentiality are so flimsy as to be useless".

"In a democracy under the rule of law, one should not have to rely on blind trust in the authorities; the law should guarantee restraint," he wrote in e recent paper. "However, the law that applies to the census data shortly to be collected does nothing of the sort. It does not stand in the way of the UK police, or intelligence services, or indeed foreign law enforcement agencies and secret services, seeking access – not just in exceptional cases but for general 'trawling' or 'fishing'."

CHRISTIANS & HUMANISTS CRITICISE FALSE "DISCRIMINATION" CLAIMS

This is the second news release inside a week from Ekklesia (a thinktank which examines the role of religion in public life) which should be posted here. The notes at the end of the press release are also from Ekklesia's news release.

Christians & Humanists criticise false "discrimination" claims


Claims that Christians are being 'discriminated against' by human rights and equality legislation in the UK have been strongly criticised by the Christian think-tank Ekklesia and the British Humanist Association (BHA).


The two organisations have spoken out jointly after socially conservative group 'Christian Concern' (formerly Christian Concern For Our Nation) launched a petition claiming that people with 'mainstream Christian' beliefs are being barred by equalities legislation 'from different areas of public life and employment'.


The petition was launched following the latest in a string of failed court cases pursued by the Christian Legal Centre, which has strong links to Christian Concern.


In December 2010, Ekklesia, the BHA, the European Humanist Federation (EHF) and other religious and non-religious groups described Christian Concern's 'Not Ashamed' campaign, which made similar claims, as "misleading and having no evidence to support them".


Simon Barrow, co-director of Ekklesia, said: "The judgement in the recent Johns foster case was very clear. It described claims of anti-religious discrimination as a 'travesty of the reality' and 'wrong as to the factual premises on which they are based.' The judges added that 'No one is seeking to de-legitimise Christianity or any other faith or belief. ... No one is seeking to give Christians, Jews or Muslims or, indeed, peoples of any faith, a second class status. On the contrary, it is fundamental to our law, to our polity and to our way of life, that everyone is equal.'


"It is this equality which some vociferous campaign groups are disputing. They want a privileged status in law for their own particular prejudices, using arguments which many other Christians find misplaced, misguided and offensive. Far from 'defending Christianity', petitions like this bring it into disrepute," added Barrow.


BHA Chief Executive Andrew Copson commented: "This petition is the latest in a series of increasingly desperate attempts to create a victim narrative about 'Christianophobia'. But these claims have no basis in reality. What they describe as discrimination and marginalisation of Christians is in fact the proper upholding of human rights and equalities law and principles - a law which protects religious people from unjustified and illegitimate discrimination in exactly the same way as it protects people on other grounds like race and sexual orientation.

He continued: "It is very important to be vigilant over claims that mask prejudice with false claims about oppression. There is no evidence of discrimination against Christians, only evidence of a persecution complex from those perpetuating the myth of 'Christianophobia'. We must be robust in our response to an ideology that, in reality, would limit religious and other freedoms for most people, while permitting wide discrimination by a small number of narrow-minded persons against others."

Founded in 2001, Ekklesia examines politics, values and beliefs in a changing world, from a Christian perspective. It has been listed by The Independent newspaper among 20 influential UK think-tanks. According to Alexa/Amazon, it has one of the most-visited religion and politics / current affairs websites in Britain. More: http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=y7uzgobab&et=1104817613705&s=16026&e=001s_MCAGhNKS-qQECAgTUOA0-9H0g1HrpIpnJALWfUITnWZIpKrxaj6fbnm5foXElyWRWiE8efKLkLKCONbS8IrG_ChCEo6Sp4zn8ezDAd3DppAgraiwKIJMC_pnsivTKnjZO6Zofhqb9IqrU45T3YEg==


The British Humanist Association is the largest national charity representing and supporting the interests of ethically concerned, non-religious people in the UK. More information at:http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=y7uzgobab&et=1104817613705&s=16026&e=001s_MCAGhNKS8O3u9H0maXJJUTbs3GZpcqahfC6UB9gFHhUWxehRDVuTC9YTFdzwmptQJnJAcsAe6jedft2aZY-qI5y0G2AzwI73p4L6ZMI_0qy-yGUT_EXb-Vypv50EiS


See also: Simon Barrow, 'Shameful claims and alternative Christian living' and 'Discriminating Christian confusions'

EDUCATION ABOUT BELIEFS "VITAL" FOR A PLURAL SOCIETY

Here's a news release distributed today by Ekklesia (a thinktank which examines the role of religion in public life) contributing to the debate about multiculuralism following the Prime Minister's recent high profile speech on that subject. I've put this in the blog not only for its general interst, but also specifically because of Leicester Council of Faiths' involvement with formal education at different levels (e.g. SACRE) and with adult training in a variety of settings (I don't think that the kind of education discussed in this article begins and ends with formal school, college or university based teaching and learning). The notes at the end of the press release are also from Ekklesia.

Education about beliefs "vital" for a plural society


A senior educationist has said that good quality teaching about the religions and beliefs is vital for the development of shared understandings and positive citizenship practices in a plural society.


Writing for the beliefs and values thinktank Ekklesia, Robert Jackson, who is Professor of Education at the University of Warwick and Director of Warwick Religions and Education Research Unit, says that "peaceful coexistence depends on knowledge about each other's religions and worldviews and sharing common interests as well as doing things together."


He was responding to the debate about 'multiculturalism' sparked last month by the Prime Minister.


David Cameron needs to give more attention to the views of young people, to the positive contribution religions and cultures can make to the community, and to the need for "an intellectually challenging forum in the school" on belief issues "taught by well-trained teachers", says Professor Jackson.


Referring to the findings of the European Commission Project on Religion, Education, Dialogue and Conflict (REDCo) among 14-16 year olds across eight countries, Professor Jackson points out that "students who learn about religious diversity in school are more willing to have conversations about religions/beliefs with students of other backgrounds than those who do not."


The research shows that pupils "do not want to be told what to believe... [but] they want teachers to combine expertise in the study of religions and social and cultural issues with expertise as facilitators of discussion and exchange," he explains.


Both the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have called for teaching about religions and beliefs as a fundamental part of promoting inter-cultural understanding.


But Professor Jackson says that the government is not demonstrating serious intent in this area. Teacher training numbers for religious education have been reduced by 50 per cent for 2012, training courses are closing, and RE is not being considered as an exam subject in relation to the proposed English baccalaureate - downgrading the intellectual rigour required.


Simon Barrow, co-director of Ekklesia, commented: "Literacy in the religious and non-religious worldviews shaping our world, and influencing the relations between people and culture, is crucial to promoting peaceful co-existence in a mixed society - not least among the young. Bigotry and violent extremism breed on isolation and ignorance."


He added: "Tub-thumping about 'British values' is not the way forward. We need practical steps to ensure that a dialogical, critical approach to religion and belief becomes a properly resourced and scrutinised part of the national curriculum - as educationists from a variety of backgrounds have been arguing for some time."

Founded in 2001, Ekklesia examines politics, values and beliefs in a changing world, from a Christian perspective. It has been listed by The Independent newspaper among 20 influential UK think-tanks. According to Alexa / Amazon, it has one of the most-visited religion and politics / current affairs websites in Britain. More: http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=y7uzgobab&et=1104765833544&s=16026&e=0015xfifYu_WkMeZbBODmJFT8mVoNcIwcmMLQK0gjkjgbw_JnQ4dgrbnqQLU2InzxuzdfaqYA3y3L6eGxgCzCfSkDYqzkYKum35yu4nZswfd-ydD-N58t742eBwLTPLOnCgMFeagq_tlS82T_UoEpyr4w==


Professor Robert Jackson's article, Cameron, 'multiculturalism' and education about religions and beliefs can be found at http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=y7uzgobab&et=1104765833544&s=16026&e=0015xfifYu_WkNkrrxbBP1SuLSsA21P4ErdwYfeDGbSv0n2uzePpqBPuJrB-_kmQf0u4Ry5Zla9ESwQxak9kr8lU_prS1D3_O6BD_35F0BvfHVdCvKDGD-6Xhks6eXHFFiuo9qYAiv_mJ4=


Robert Jackson is Professor of Education at the University of Warwick and Director of Warwick Religions and Education Research Unit. He is also Professor of Religious Diversity and Education at the Council of Europe-related European Wergeland Centre, based in Oslo, concerned with human rights, citizenship and intercultural education across Europe. He led the Warwick team involved in the REDCo Project.