Press Releases - All Categories

87% of population say 'dead on all sides' should be marked on Remembrance Sunday

Press Office — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:46:41 +0000

The deaths of those who fought against Britain should be marked alongside the British dead on Remembrance Sunday, according to 87% of the population, says a remarkable new opinion survey.

Time for the religious to kick the broadcasting habit

Press Office — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:26:14 +0000

A new paper released today by the religion and society think-tank Ekklesia highlights how, since its origins in the wartime programming of World War Two, the extension of BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day (TFTD) beyond their own voices has been resisted by Church leaders.

We need a more inclusive Remembrance Day

Press Office — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:41:20 +0000

A new report ahead of Remembrance Day is recommending a deeper and more meaningful form of remembrance that encompasses both soldiers and civilians on all sides in all wars.

Poll suggests many Christians take radical stand against war

Press Office — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:22:34 +0000

Results from a poll being released in the run up to Remembrance Sunday suggest that many British Christians want troops withdrawn from Afghanistan and an end to all UK arms exports.

Churches need new approach to fight BNP effectively

Press Office — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:13:17 +0100

If churches are to be effective in challenging the BNP they need to drop their rhetoric which fuels the party's ideology.

New schools award for religious inclusion and equality

Press Office — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:17:08 +0100

A prestigious new prize is being offered that recognises the achievements of primary and secondary schools which celebrate diversity of religious and non-religious beliefs.

Change in law needed after Quaker marriage decision

Press Office — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:01:23 +0100

The religion and society think-tank Ekklesia is proposing a new legal framework which can accommodate same-sex marriage ceremonies carried out by religious bodies.

Time for a bishop to the 'unarmed forces'

Press Office — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:59:14 +0100

Following the announcement by the Church of England of a new bishop to the armed forces, the think-tank Ekklesia is suggesting that it is time there was also a bishop to the 'unarmed forces'.

Don't confuse religion with spirituality, report suggests

Press Office — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:41:21 +0100

As the debate continues about the inclusion in BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day of those who are not from the major world religions, a new paper from the religious thinktank Ekklesia urges that spirituality should not be confused with religion

Move from armed force to conflict prevention, government urged

Press Office — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:49:08 +0100

The British government needs to make a clean break over the true cost and consequences of its recent military intervention policies, says the think-tank Ekklesia, which is calling for major investment in alternative, non-violent initiatives to tackle escalating global conflicts.

Questions over government agenda for Armed Forces Day

Press Office — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:18:59 +0100

Following the announcement that the Iraq war inquiry will be held in private, the thinktank Ekklesia has today proposed that Armed Forces Day should be an opportunity to think honestly about military intervention rather than an excuse to divert attention away from the realities of war.

Religious call to halt faith school discrimination

Press Office — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:45:12 +0100

A letter from members of nine religious traditions calling for an end to religious discrimination in schools has been published in the Times. The plea coincides with the first day of the Equality Bill’s committee stage.

Poll challenges Archbishop's idea that expenses scandal is bad for democracy

Press Office — Sat, 23 May 2009 10:25:09 +0100

A public opinion poll by ComRes, commissioned by the religion and society thinktank Ekklesia, has challenged the Archbishop of Canterbury's suggestion that democracy will be damaged by the revelations about MPs expenses

New poll shows public thinks independent candidates can help reinvigorate democracy

Press Office — Sat, 23 May 2009 01:11:22 +0100

* 78% say independents should stand where MPs have behaved ‘unethically’
* 63% believe British democracy would be strengthened if there were more independent MPs
* 53% say they would ‘seriously consider’ voting for an independent candidate at the next general election

Archbishop can help churches escape 'persecution complex'

Press Office — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:03:13 +0100

The religion and society think-tank Ekklesia says that today's installation of the new Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, may signal an important move away from an unhelpful 'persecution complex' which has been developing in certain sections of the churches in the last few years.