What happens beyond 'organised religion'?

You are invited to join a discussion of 'moving beyond organised religion' on Sunday 21 October, from 12.30pm – 5pm, in the Hall at St John’s Church, Edinburgh, starting with a pot luck lunch (please bring a food contribution).

Many people today feel an instant disconnect or disinterest in ‘institutional’ or ‘organised’ religion. There is a sense abroad that faith, not least Christian faith, has been turned into a self-perpetuating bureaucracy which operates out of self-interest, refuses difficult questions, and suppresses alternatives.

This afternoon event, led by Simon Barrow from Exploring Anabaptism in Scotland, who is also co-director of the think-tank Ekklesia, revolves around the new and experimental shapes Christianity might take in a world where ‘top-down religion’ (along with ‘top-down economics’ and ‘top-down politics’) appears to be in crisis. More information here.

This event is sponsored by the new Centre for Living Christianity (CLiC) in Edinburgh.

We need more 'disorganised religion'

Michael Marten from the Critical Religion Research Group at the University of Stirling was recently invited to be part of a public conversation at Edinburgh’s Festival of Spirituality and Peace on the theme ‘Disorganised Religion’.

He writes: "I was asked to offer comment on how I see understandings of ‘religion’ changing and to reflect on whether ‘disorganised religion’ is a helpful term to reflect on questions of religion.  The conversation was chaired by Ekklesia’s Simon Barrow, and Ian Milligan from Exploring Anabaptism in Scotland and the Bert community in Glasgow was the other discussant.  The event was sponsored by Ekklesia and the Iona Community." 

"This blog entry is a lightly-edited and slightly expanded version of my opening remarks, reflecting also some of the comments from the 60+ audience who came to the conversation; warm thanks to them for their insights," says Michael.  

Read the full blog here.

Festival of Spirituality and Peace

Exploring Anabaptism in Scotland is involved in the 2012 Festival of Spirituality and Peace in Edinburgh, through the public conversation  Disorganised Religion (Thursday 9th August, 5.45pm at St John's Church, Princes Street). There's much else to look out for, too...

Anabaptism and Disorganised Religion

We live in an era where people are inquisitive about spirituality, but hugely distrustful or even hostile towards ‘organised religion’, especially in its Christian forms.

But there are strong anti-institutional and non-hierarchical traditions in Christianity and beyond.

Can Anabaptists, Quakers, Nonconformists and loyal dissenters from within the major streams of Christianity offer a new vision of faith and an alternative to top-down religion?

Join the ‘vast minority’ at the Festival of Spirituality and Peace in Edinburgh to discuss what a radical reformation in the Church has to offer - and how this relates to the wider demography of religious and belief-based change in a globalising world.

The event takes place on Thursday 9 August, from 5.45pm - 7pm, at St John’s (Venue 127), corner of Princes Street and Lothian Road, Edinburgh. £6.50 (£4.50 concessions).

Speakers: Ian Milligan, from Exploring Anabaptism in Scotland and the Bert community in Glasgow; Simon Barrow, co-director of Ekklesia, trstee for the Mennonite Centre Trust and former global mission secretary for Churches Together in Britain and Ireland; and Michael Marten, co-founder of the ‘Critical Religion’ research group at the University of Stirling. In partnership with the Iona Community (http://www.iona.org.uk/) and Ekklesia.

* Book now via the Hub

Join us on 9th August

Along with Ekklesia we are organising a conversation at the Edinburgh Festival of Spirituality and Peace between 5.30 - 6.45pm on Thursday 9 August 2012, at St John's Episcopal Church. This is at the junction of Princes Street and Lothian Road. The theme is 'Disorganised Religion'.

We live in an era in an age where people are inquisitive about spirituality, but distrustful or hostile towards "organised religion", especially in its Christian forms. But there are strong anti-institutional and non-hierarchical traditions in Christianity and beyond. Can Anabaptists, Quakers and nonconformists offer a new vision of faith and an alternative to top-down religion? Join the 'vast minority' to discuss what a radical reformation in the church has to offer.

Conversants: Ian Milligan (Exploring Anabaptism Scotland, Glasgow); Simon Barrow (Ekklesia, Edinburgh); Michael Marten ('Critical Religion', University of Stirling) and hopefully a woman from the Iona Community.