A Conference organised by Union Theological College in conjunction with the Church and Society Committee of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

The Church in the Public Square? is a conference organised under the auspices of Union Theological College, and in conjunction with the Church and Society Committee of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, and will be held in Assembly Buildings, Fisherwick Place Belfast, on Thursday 30 January 2014 from 10.30am to 3.30pm. (Please see the attached flyer for details including booking information.) It seeks to bring together a number of leading thinkers in the UK and from our local community to consider the role which Christians and the Church can play as we seek to move forward as a community.

Those who have lived through the second half of the twentieth century will be aware of the seismic shift that has taken place in terms of morality and ethical standards. Whereas it was once the case that a majority of people in our society accepted and ordered their lives according to foundational Christian standards of morality, that is no longer the case. The changing scene has meant that those who hold to a traditional Christian position feel decidedly uncomfortable and marginalized as our society, and increasingly its major institutions, reflect a secular point of view which conflicts with their Christian principles. Not only has the Christian voice become incomprehensible in many ears, but it is often even hated and actively opposed.

What should Christians do, and how should they respond to these changes? In particular, what role does the Christian Church have to play in the debates that are taking place on a whole range of issues from education to euthanasia? Our three speakers will help us answer these and other related questions.

Professor Donald McLeod is Professor of Systematic Theology at Free Church College in Edinburgh, and a regular commentator on current affairs in Scotland and the UK from a Christian point of view. He is well known as a previous editor of The Monthly Record of the Free Church and as a columnist in the West Highland Free Press and The Observer newspaper. His comments have frequently been controversial. Professor McLeod will reflect on how and where the Church ought to position itself in current debates. Should the church retreat from the public square and only be concerned with spiritual matters? Or is there a biblical mandate for involvement in the discussion of key issues?

Dr Jonathan Chaplin is Director of the Kirby Laing Centre for Christian Ethics in Cambridge. He is a specialist in Christian political thought, and has authored or edited eight books and reports and many articles in this field. He is currently working on a book provisionally entitled Faith in Democracy? Towards a Post–secularist Settlement. He has served on the board or advisory councils of several organisations working on the relationship between Christian faith and public life, including the Movement for Christian Democracy, Citizens for Public Justice (Canada), the Social Action Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, the theology committee of the Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee Committee, and the Civitas Program of the Center for Public Justice (USA). He was a member of the UK Evangelical Alliance’s Theology and Public Policy Advisory Council from 2007–2011. Dr Chaplin will deal with the challenge that arises when a diversity of religious communities no longer accept the privatized role allotted to them by liberal secularism but demand public recognition and public influence. Many want public policy to reflect their distinctive religious identity. Can this be done? Should we expect, or work for, some degree of practical agreement?

John Larkin QC is the Attorney–General for Northern Ireland. He is the first holder of the office not to be a politician sitting in either the Parliament of Northern Ireland at Stormont, or the Westminster Parliament. He was born in Belfast and was educated at St Mary’s Christian Brothers’ Grammar School, Belfast and Queen’s University where he read law. He was subsequently called to the Bar of Northern Ireland and practiced as a barrister. In 1989, at the age of 25, Mr Larkin was appointed as Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penal Law at Trinity College, Dublin. He returned to Northern Ireland in the 1990s to work at the Northern Ireland Bar, specialising in administrative law, civil liberties and human rights, competition and constitutional law, defamation and judicial review. Mr Larkin will explore the nature of rights, the use and abuse of ‘rights talk’ and the importance for contemporary Northern Ireland of a healthy rights culture.

This day conference should prove to be stimulating and thought–provoking. We believe that there will be much interest in the topics to be discussed, and early registration is recommended. The conference fee (including lunch) is £20 (£12 for full time students) and that a special early registration fee of £15 is available to those who book by 1st December.

To register please send the appropriate booking fee to Union Theological College, 108 Botanic Avenue, BT7 1JT

(Cheques made payable to Union Theological College)

For enquiries email Union College or telephone +44 (0)28 90205080