Centre for Cultural Witness

The creative, imaginative, culture-shaping power of the Gospel

We live at a time where there is little common vision for the future of our societies. At such a moment, a fresh, pro-active approach to communicating the Christian gospel in the public arena is needed more than ever.

Our aim is to make Christian faith better understood in public, displaying the creative, imaginative, culture-shaping power of the Christian gospel. We will harness the wisdom of theologians and other Christian leaders to enable them to communicate a rich, intelligent vision of the world seen through Christian eyes.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, says: “This initiative is sorely needed for the Church in the UK and across the world at this moment, to strengthen our witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to harness the considerable wisdom of Christian scholars in this country and beyond.”

What

The main outward facing work of the Centre is Seen & Unseen, a magazine-style where we will publish articles and podcasts aiming to explain and explore aspects of Christian faith and offer Christian perspectives on culture and contemporary life. A theological academic research programme will partner with university theology faculties to explore the task of the Church’s cultural witness in the contemporary context. Senior Christian leaders and emerging communicators will be offered a learning programme focused on cultural witness.

Who

The Centre for Cultural Witness has a small full-time staff led by Bishop Graham Tomlin. It is run in collaboration with prominent theological faculties in the UK, Europe and America. Funding is provided by donations, including from the McDonald Agape Foundation and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Charitable Fund.

Focus areas

Communication: Seen & Unseen is a magazine-style website featuring regular and occasional contributors, well-known names and younger, more diverse voices. Our hope is that this becomes the go-to place for accessible, intelligent Christian comment on contemporary life and the significance of the Christian faith in shaping culture and transforming lives.

Learning: To help develop the Church’s voice in public the Centre will draw together prominent Christian leaders with media specialists and academic theologians. This will include developing and supporting a network of emerging younger communicators, giving both training and a platform for their contribution.

Research: To communicate the transformative message of the Christian faith in the fast-changing culture of today, theological and sociological research is needed to discern how best to do this in a post-Christian and even ‘post-truth’ world.

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