Monthly Archives: November 2011

Wellcome Trust Monitor

Among the datasets released this month by the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS) is that for the Wellcome Trust Monitor 1, 2009 (SN 6889). A suite of technical documentation can be found at: http://www.esds.ac.uk/findingData/snDescription.asp?sn=6889&key=6889 The Monitor (expected to be … Continue reading

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Baptist Times (1855-2011)

The Baptist Times, Britain’s longest-running weekly Free Church newspaper, is to cease publication of both print and digital editions at the end of this year, its directors have announced recently. Falling circulation and advertising revenue have been blamed. The paper … Continue reading

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Threat of Religious Extremism

UK citizens are more concerned about religious extremism than almost any other country in the European Union (EU), according to Special Eurobarometer 371 on Internal Security published today and available at: http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_371_en.pdf The study formed part of wave 75.4 of … Continue reading

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Marginalized Christians?

The All Party Parliamentary Group ‘Christians in Parliament’, chaired by Conservative MP Gary Streeter, is currently conducting the ‘Clearing the Ground’ inquiry, which seeks to establish whether changes to the law and recent court decisions have adversely affected Christian freedoms … Continue reading

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A Place for Pride

‘People who are religious are more likely to be patriotic than are those who self-define as atheists or non-believers.’ So claims a report launched today by the think-tank Demos, and based on interviews with a representative sample of 2,086 adult … Continue reading

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Religiously Aggravated Offending in Scotland, 2010-11

The Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament is meeting next Tuesday to consider Stage 2 amendments to the (relatively controversial) Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill, nicknamed the ‘Football Act’, which will give Scottish police more powers … Continue reading

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GRAS is Greener – Furlong Table, 2010

‘The Church of England is a third of the way to gender equality’, according to the third edition of the Furlong Table of women clergy recently issued by GRAS (Group for Rescinding the Act of Synod). Named in honour of … Continue reading

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Religion in Western Europe and the USA

The latest report from the Pew Global Attitudes Project, on the values gap between America and Western Europe (including on three religious indicators), was published today, with the general headline of ‘American exceptionalism subsides’ (although this was less applicable to … Continue reading

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Unlucky 13 Hits the Property Market

One manifestation of the persistence of superstition in Britain is the still widespread belief among adults that certain numbers can be associated with good or bad luck. In particular, the number 13 is considered to be unlucky by about one … Continue reading

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Clergy Experience of Appointments

Interviews for clergy appointments often last for less than one hour, end up as one-way questioning, lack clarity, and assume a rather secular air, according to a survey recently released by 3D Coaching, which provides coaching and organizational development services … Continue reading

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