Maria Power – författare

In recent years, far-right organisations have invaded mosques across the UK with army-issued Bibles, declaring their actions a 'Christian crusade’. Others have paraded large crosses through Muslim-majority areas, and invaded 'migrant hotels,' harassing residents in their so-called crusade. Far-right appeals to ‘clean up society’, and ‘restore Christian Britain’ can be quite attractive to some Christians. However, what they may fail to appreciate is that this rhetoric may be cynically employed by those whose allegiance and values are quite contrary to Christian ones. Despite all this, the response from official church sources in the UK has been notably subdued, and resources to help churches address hate crimes or racial tensions are scarce. This book aims to fill that void. Bringing together insights from theologians, church practitioners, and leading experts, this volume examines the church's response to the rise of far-right thinking in UK society and explores how it can respond more effectively. With a foreword by David Gushee, this book offers critical and constructive perspectives for the church to confront these challenges.Blogpost: Helen Paynter on Why the church should take the rise in far right rhetoric seriously

This book investigates the response of the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland to the conflict in the region during the late Twentieth Century. It does so through the prism of the writings of Cardinal Cahal Daly (1917-2009), the only member of the hierarchy to serve as a bishop throughout the entire conflict. This book uses the prolific writings of Cardinal Daly to create a vision of the ‘Peaceable Kingdom’ and demonstrate how Catholic social teaching has been used to promote peace, justice and nonviolence. It also explores the public role of the Catholic Church in situations of violence and conflict, as well as the importance for national churches in developing a voice in the public square.Finally, the book offers a reflection on the role of Catholic social teaching in contemporary society and the ways in which the lessons of Northern Ireland can be utilised in a world where structural violence, as evidenced by austerity, and reactions to Brexit in the United Kingdom, is now the norm. This work challenges and changes the nature of the debate surrounding the role of the Catholic Church in the conflict in Northern Ireland. It will, therefore, be a key resource for scholars of Religious Studies, Catholic Theology, Religion and Violence, Peace Studies, and Twentieth Century History.

This book investigates the response of the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland to the conflict in the region during the late Twentieth Century. It does so through the prism of the writings of Cardinal Cahal Daly (1917-2009), the only member of the hierarchy to serve as a bishop throughout the entire conflict. This book uses the prolific writings of Cardinal Daly to create a vision of the ‘Peaceable Kingdom’ and demonstrate how Catholic social teaching has been used to promote peace, justice and nonviolence. It also explores the public role of the Catholic Church in situations of violence and conflict, as well as the importance for national churches in developing a voice in the public square.Finally, the book offers a reflection on the role of Catholic social teaching in contemporary society and the ways in which the lessons of Northern Ireland can be utilised in a world where structural violence, as evidenced by austerity, and reactions to Brexit in the United Kingdom, is now the norm. This work challenges and changes the nature of the debate surrounding the role of the Catholic Church in the conflict in Northern Ireland. It will, therefore, be a key resource for scholars of Religious Studies, Catholic Theology, Religion and Violence, Peace Studies, and Twentieth Century History.

This volume brings to light the Catholic laity's rich history of collective action to address major social issues in twentieth-century Britain, from women's suffrage to the AIDS crisis.Catholic teaching in the twentieth century placed renewed emphasis on the role of lay people in enacting Christian values and beliefs in the circumstances of their ordinary lives. In Britain, this call for Catholic action in the social sphere was answered by many organisations and associations that in very different ways channeled and transformed the engagement of Catholic believers with the Church and with wider society. This volume casts fresh light on the neglected contributions of Britain's Catholic minority to widely familiar movements and issues across the twentieth century, from women's suffrage at its beginning to the peace movement and AIDS response at its end.While much research has been done on lay Catholic associations in North America and Continental Europe, very little has previously been known about such societies in the British context. Chapters in this ground-breaking collection discuss such organisations as the Catholic Women's League, St Joan's Social and Political Alliance, the Guild of Catholic Teachers, the Catholic Evidence Guild, the Young Christian Workers, the Newman Association, the Catenians, the Catholic Worker movement, the charismatic prayer groups that proliferated in the 1970s, and Catholic AIDS Link.These groups operating under lay leadership variously worked to support working and professional women, secure equal voting rights, advance the professionalisation of teachers, combat prejudice against the reasonableness of Catholic doctrines and those holding them, give young working people the skills and confidence to engage actively with their conditions, provide aid to exiles from totalitarian regimes, create forums for respectable conviviality and collective charitable endeavour for middle-class men, promote radical social justice and peace activism, experiment with new forms of worship and spirituality, and respond to the crisis of the AIDS pandemic of the 1980s.The sheer variety of concerns addressed by these associations - a small selection from the many more that have existed and that continue to operate - indicate something of the breadth of the Catholic laity's engagement with the condition of twentieth-century Britain and the depth of its response to the call for Catholic social action.

Two of the most crucial issues facing humanity in the contemporary world are artificial intelligence and armed conflict. This book tackles them both, bringing them into conversation with one another and creating an understanding of their relationship. New developments in technology, especially within weapons systems, have challenged our understandings of just war theory, thus changing the nature of the questions to be asked of and by those engaged in conflict. Covering topics such as drone warfare and the use of wargaming by combatants, this collection seeks to answer those questions with essays from leading experts in the field. It will be a valuable resource for those interested in both the development of artificial intelligence generally and warfare specifically.

Postdigital Ethical Futures emerged from the work of the Ethical Futures Network hosted by the William Temple Foundation meeting both online and at Trinity College, Oxford. This book illustrates the research being carried out by some of the members of this network by examining the more practical aspects of the subject of religion and the digital, drawing on a wider range of disciplines and was created in memory of John Reader whose idea the text was, who died suddenly in 2023. This book examines issues of ethics as encountered in both the digital and environmental spheres, and seeks to cross the boundary between philosophy and theology.

Since the onset of the troubles in the late 1960s, people in Northern Ireland have been working together to bring about a peaceful, non-violent end to the conflict. In doing so, they have used their efforts as a means to support the transition to a post-conflict society in the wake of the ceasefires and the Good Friday Agreement. This collection is the first to examine the different forms of peace and reconciliation work that have taken place. It brings together an international group of scholars to examine initiatives such as integrated education, faith-based peace building, cross-border co-operation and women’s activism as well as the impact that government policy and European funding have had upon the development of peace and reconciliation organisations. This unique collection of essays demonstrates the contribution that such schemes have made to the peace process and the part that they can play in Northern Ireland’s future.Contributors include: Kevin Bean (Liverpool), Katy Hayward (Queens), Peter Shirlow(Queens), and Kieron McEvoy (Queens).

Since the onset of the troubles in the late 1960s, people in Northern Ireland have been working together to bring about a peaceful, non-violent end to the conflict. In doing so, they have used their efforts as a means to support the transition to a post-conflict society in the wake of the ceasefires and the Good Friday Agreement. This collection is the first to examine the different forms of peace and reconciliation work that have taken place. It brings together an international group of scholars to examine initiatives such as integrated education, faith-based peace building, cross-border co-operation and women’s activism as well as the impact that government policy and European funding have had upon the development of peace and reconciliation organisations. This unique collection of essays demonstrates the contribution that such schemes have made to the peace process and the part that they can play in Northern Ireland’s future.Contributors include: Kevin Bean (Liverpool), Katy Hayward (Queens), Peter Shirlow(Queens), and Kieron McEvoy (Queens).

This volume brings together 11 experts from a range of religious backgrounds, to consider how each tradition has interpreted matters of violence and peace in relation to its sacred text.