Graeme Smith

From values to virtues: an investigation into the ethical content of English primary school assemblies

School assemblies are unique and important events in the lives of schools. They are an opportunity for a head teacher to shape and celebrate the ethos and priorities of a school. However, the discussion of assemblies has stagnated because it is mired in the debate about legal compliance to the 1988 Education Reform Act and its interpretation in circular 1/94. This article reports on a research project which investigated the ethical ideas communicated in primary school assemblies. It is found that almost all assemblies sought to communicate a form of virtue ethics. We observed the promotion of courage, kindness, loyalty and responsibility. Further, different virtues were emphasised in different schools depending on their social location. For example, perseverance and resilience were often stressed in a school from a low socio-economic area. The article concludes with an examination of the implications of our findings for the discussion of legal compliance to the 1988 Act.

“You turn if you want to”: The questions a Pragmatic Political Theology might ask of Speculative Realism’

Abstract The question pursued in this article is what might a pragmatic (in the Rortyan sense) political theology ask speculative realists to contribute to its analyses and discussions. The article begins by discussing the potential reservations political theologians might have in employing Richard Rorty as a dialogue partner. It then considers the insights from Rorty that political theologians might value, namely a respect for Western democracy and pluralism, the desire to reform capitalism, and a deeper understanding of the relationship between Christianity and liberalism. These insights are discussed in dialogue with the radical orthodoxy of John Milbank. It is argued that Milbank and Rorty share post-foundational philosophical assumptions but arrive at different political conclusions with regard to democracy and capitalism. The paper makes the case for a pragmatic valuing of democracy and capitalism and a recognition of their Christian heritage.

Introduction: Charting a Crisis

In the Introduction, Ulrich Schmiedel and Graeme Smith chart the context for the contributions to this compilation by scrutinizing the controversies stirred up by the conceptualization and characterization of the current situation of Europe as a crisis. Are the refugees in crisis? Are the receivers in crisis? Whose crisis was—or indeed is—it? While religion is a resource for refugees on the flight, Schmiedel and Smith argue, the public and political discourse about the current refugee crisis tells a decidedly different tale: it is a discourse about the receivers rather than a discourse about the refugees. In this discourse, religion appears as radically ambiguous, causing both social cohesion and social conflict in times of turmoil.

A Popular Public Theology: Issues of Pluralism, Identity, and Justice

Abstract The article begins by exploring what is meant by a popular public theology drawing on the work of the missiologist Werner Ustorf. A popular public theology refers to the informal and unofficial theological speech of society, distinct from the more formal theology of the Church and academy. Such popular public theology is found in contemporary culture, albeit often in diffuse and incoherent form. It is then argued that a popular public theology has an inbuilt relevance to the concerns of society, avoids problems associated with public theologians needing to be fluent in more than one academic discourse, and is not in danger of being reliant on the social sciences. Finally, it is suggested that by discussing the implications of cultural theological statements, public theologians are able to contribute critically to social and political debates.

Taking Sides: An Investigation into Reinhold Niebuhr’s Rise to the Position of Public Intellectual

This article investigates the reason for Reinhold Niebuhr’s rise to prominence as a pub- lic intellectual; it considers first the nature of Niebuhr’s success before then arguing that the rhetorical style of his sermons and lectures, the polemical style of his journal- ism and his political activism were major factors in his rise. What is suggested in the article is that Niebuhr constructed himself as a political figure and that this was crucial in his rise to prominence.

Pluralism and Justice: A Theological Critique of Red Toryism

Abstract Red Toryism analyses the problems of contemporary British society as resulting from an expanding authoritarian state and irresponsible global free markets. It proposes as a response to the current economic, political and social crises a return to a politics of virtue which celebrates and engenders local associations, moral behaviour and the traditional family unit. The link between Red Toryism and John Milbanks political theology is established before a critique of the elitism of Red Toryism is connected to the exclusive ontology employed by Milbank. Employing a reading of the politics of descriptions and interpretations from Vattimo and Zabala it is argued that Milbanks anti-pluralism results in a conservative political order in which the poor are viewed as passive recipients of middle-class social and political activism.

The Possibility of Citizen Theology: Public Theology after Christendom and the Enlightenment

In this article the authors outline and critique two models of public theology in order to advance a new, more helpful, approach. The context is British but the intention is to draw lessons for public theology in the global west. The state of British public theology is briefly surveyed and found to be in some disarray. The most common models—char- acterized as ‘disciple theology’ and ‘liberal activist theology’—are critically analysed and found in significant ways to be inadequate for purpose. The model of ‘citizen theol- ogy’ as an approach to doing public theology is advanced, developed and discussed as an alternate. The central features of citizen theology are put forward for analysis. These include the importance of developing the virtues, creating poetic and parabolic dis- course, and creating imaginative theological categories and theories.

Christian Totalitarianism: Joseph Oldham and Oxford 1937

Abstract The article examines the Oxford Conference of the Universal Christian Council for Life and Work, 1937. In particular it explores the work of Joseph Oldham who was the main organiser behind the conference and its three-year preparatory process. It is argued that Oxford 1937 sought to analyse the causes of the rise of totalitarian regimes, especially in Germany. The reports of the conference demonstrate that modernity, understood as individualism, pluralism, urbanization and industrialization, was perceived as the primary reason why totalitarianism was popular. People, it was suggested, felt insecure, lost and lonely because of the effects of modernity and therefore turned to what might be called pre-modern, collectivist regimes for security. It is then argued that Oxford 1937, inspired and led by Oldham, proposed a form of Christian totalitarianism as a response to the rise of political totalitarianisms. In other words the conference did not reject the form and structure of totalitarianism but rather its content. This it did in opposition to a few contemporary commentators who suggested a more liberal political response to the rise of totalitarianism.

Conclusion: The Theological Takeover

In the conclusion, Ulrich Schmiedel and Graeme Smith summarize the role of religion in the current refugee crisis by suggesting that civil and notso-civil theologies have taken over the public square. Their suggestion, inspired by Robert Bellah’s concept of civil religion, points to the significance of theologies that are always already operant in the controversies stirred up by immigration into Europe. Crucially, the operation of these theologies is independent of religion, in the sense that it requires neither religious practice nor religious participation in institutions such as churches. If Europe’s public square has been taken over by theologies, the requirements for reflection on the role of religion changes accordingly. These are changes that scholars need to confront. Schmiedel and Smith sketch what such a confrontation could look like in order to point to the instructive and important avenues that the contributions to this compilation have opened up in terms of public scholarship in the current refugee crisis.

Roundtable Review of Stephen Pattison’s Saving Face

Book Review of Saving Face: Enfacement, Shame, Theology. By Stephen Pattison. 202 +viii pp. Farnham: Ashgate. 2013. (Abingdon: Routledge. 2016). £34.99 (PBK) ISBN: 978-1-4094-3692-8 Reviewed by: Stephen Roberts, Modern Theology, University of Chichester, Chichester, UK