Elections, the church and threats to democracy
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We in the UK have been startled by the sudden announcement from the prime minister that our general election, due at the end of the year, would actually be held in six weeks’ time in early July. In this episode we reflect on why Christians are so politically engaged in Britain, with research suggesting they are much more likely to vote, join a party, and campaign than the general public. Why has modern Christianity become so thoroughly pro-democracy, even as our secular states veer further and further Christian values? Do we need a more robust theology of politics and government in response to the many 21st century countries challenging its supremacy? And is modern technology, in particular AI, threatening the foundations we need to make democracy work?
• Tim has written more about research into how British Christians vote and why in his Substack newsletter here: https://tswyatt.substack.com/p/the-bible-and-the-ballot-box
• AI and epistemic risk paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4805026
• The Evangelical Alliance survey of Christians and politics https://www.eauk.org/general-election/thinking-faithfully-about-politics
• Research by the Theos thinktank on a similar topic https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/research/2024/05/15/religion-counts-do-the-religious-vote
• Subscribe to the Matters of Life and Death podcast: https://pod.link/1509923173
• If you want to go deeper into some of the topics we discuss, visit John's website: http://www.johnwyatt.com
• For more resources to help you explore faith and the big questions, visit: http://www.premierunbelievable.com
Released on 29 May 2024
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