Faith In Public Life🧵[DM for an opinion piece] As a minister/theology/religion academic, who teaches ethics/political theology, it is fascinating to see so many people talking about faith in public life + frustrating to see how messy the exchanges are. I have some thoughts: /1
On the ‘keep politics and religion separate’ thing; I have no time at all for that and nor do any of the mainstream churches. They all want their members to apply their faith thoughtfully to all dimensions of life. /2
Apr 28 • 20 tweets • 3 min read
TLDR thread on SNP (my party) woes. The historic mission of the SNP is to build a majority for Scottish Independence. Since the 1980s we’ve been clear that meant ‘Independence within Europe’ in a continuing positive friendly ‘social union’ with RUK. /1
We’ve been clear that we embrace a broad liberal-democratic + social-democratic policy platform. It’s independence ‘for’ the goal of building a better society for all Scots, especially the poorest, its ‘green indy’ working for net zero, it's anti-Trident + internationalist. /2
May 6, 2023 • 25 tweets • 5 min read
There are political + anthropological reasons to watch the coronation + its aftermath, even if not live. Public ritual matters. Here's a very long thread on why we should start tomorrow to plan for reform of what was done today. It's relevant to both monarchists + republicans/1
Ritual dramatises the meaning and significance of our public relationships and actions. It works both to illustrate and to legitimise key aspects of our civic and political life. It claims and displays authority and moral sanction. It also sorts and differentiates social roles./2
May 5, 2023 • 17 tweets • 3 min read
Most of my recent tweets on the Coronation have been about it's Anglocentric character, the Church of England's unwise domination of an arcane and unreformed ritual and how terrible parts of the liturgy are. In this long thread I quote from my 2014 book 'Honey From The Lion'
<<The political theology of Scottish Presbyterianism, while it has had its shameful episodes, has also long borne witness to the belief that there is an ‘outside’ to politics, an ‘outside’ to the state.
Feb 16, 2023 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
Lots of pre-emptive opinions being aired about Kate Forbes for FM and her faith as a factor in that. I don't know Kate personally and don't know if she will stand. But as a political theologian and a Kirk minister I am interested in the issues being raised. /1
Only an extreme and tiny minority would argue that being a Christian makes her or anyone else unsuitable for public office. So the issue being raised is 'what kind of a Christian' she is. As an academic with expertise in Scottish religious cultures, I expect bad takes... /2
Predictably, discussions of the role of faith in public life are kicking off - not all of them well informed. The 'f-bomb' (fundamentalist) being dropped without much awareness of the broad spectrum of UK evangelicalism and its associated ethical and political stances. /1
UK Evangelicalism includes streams which verge on being theocratic, but also many other streams which aren't. Most people who think adultery is a sin don't think it should be illegal. Not all people with conservative moral views want to mandate them in law or policy for others./2
Feb 15, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Huge respect, gratitude and appreciation for what Nicola has done and she will be very tough to follow. An important role model and an extraordinarily able politician. A watershed in Scottish politics. The future for both SNP and Yes is much more unpredictable now. /1
Barring a huge upset, the steam roller of FPTP Union politics is about to deliver an unhinged and grossly disproprtionate Starmer majority in England, which I think is a deeply shameful and undemocratic prospect. But we in the SNP will need to be canny about how we respond. /2
