Encouraging people to commit to social justice, human dignity, equality, civic participation and peace-building is the way to create good citizens, says the religion and society think-tank Ekklesia, not attempts to impose symbols of state allegiance and inflated rhetoric about ‘national pride’.

The think-tank Ekklesia, which examines religion in public life, says that the controversial appointment of the head of the Evangelical Alliance UK to the new Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is "a historic opportunity for evangelicals to shift toward full acceptance of the equalities agenda."

The present situation where churches seek government support in areas like education, and government uses faith groups to prop up its own social agenda, is unhealthy for all concerned, says Ekklesia.

Current ideas about the relationship between faith and politics ‚Ä' both among believers and secularists ‚Ä' are ‚Äúhopelessly stuck‚Äù in a confrontation which is ‚Äúas deadly as it is mistaken‚Äù, says the UK Christian think tank Ekklesia ‚Ä' which is launching a book proposing a ‚Äúradical new approach‚Äù.