2015 Annual Conference

SSCE Annual Conference 2015: Power and the Limits of Power

Friday Sep. 4 - Sunday Sep. 6

This year at the 8th centenerary of the issuing of the Magna Carta the SSCE revisited the issue of power and its limits. Recent years have seen a resurgence of demonstrations calling for democratic reform juxtaposed with both coercive and just expressions of political power. Christian reflection on this topic remains just as pressing as in the years immediately following the Magna Carta. In our discussions, we confronted new and old issues surrounding contemporary expressions of power in both political and ecclesial contexts. In addition, as our society undertakes sustained reflection on the dynamics of power in the academy and our discipline, we conducted a conversation about the commensurate relationship between power, limits, and justice in the modern academy.

Plenary Talks Included:

(click on links below to download audio recordings)

  • William Schweiker (Edward L. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor of Theological Ethics, University of Chicago)
  • Christopher Insole (Professor of Philosophical Theology and Ethics, University of Durham)
  • Robert Beckford (Professor of Theology and Culture in the African Diaspora, Canterbury Christ Church University)
  • David McIlroy (SOAS, University of London)

​Anna Rowlands (Lecturer in Contemporary Catholic Theology, Durham University) hosted a special panel on “Christian Ethics and Political Participation” with panelists including Baroness Maeve Sherlock (Labour Party, Life Peer), Canon Angus Ritchie (Executive Director, Centre for Theology & Community), Tim Livesey (former Chief of Staff to the Leader of the Opposition and Public Affairs Adviser to the Archbishop of Canterbury), and Rev Al Barrett (Anglican Priest to Hodge Hill, East Birmingham).

For our Postgraduate Forum, we hosted a workshop on “Power and Authority in Christian Ethics” with contributions from Elizabeth Henry, “Justice Issues in Minority Concerns” and Martin Kettle, “Criminal Justice and Policing the Margins”. You can download the powerpoint from this presentation by clicking here.

Conference Delegates can Download Documents Related to the Conference Below:

Documents associated with our AGM include:

We will present, discuss, and in some cases vote to approve the following at our AGM on Saturday