This is not the first time the college have hosted the group accused of being homophobic and Islamophobic. Ardfern

A petition calling for Sidney Sussex College to ban the fundamentalist group Christian Concern from visiting the College recently circulated online. Their views are wildly out of kilter with neoliberal society, being anti-abortion, anti-Islam, and against gay ‘marriage’ or ‘parenting’ (the hostile quotation marks are theirs, not mine). Their aim is one of active political campaign against the liberalisation of British society.

For many, this alone would be justifiable grounds for the ban; they appear monstrous, inhuman, or to quote a Guardian article on Jacob Rees-Mogg, full of “appalling bigotry”. As a liberal Christian, the organisation is, to me, hypocritical, claiming to seek a godly society whilst ignoring the most fundamental commandment of the Bible: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’

“Reasoned debate is therefore necessary in order to curtail the hostility of Christian Concern”

Jesus spent all of his time reaching out to the downtrodden in society with gentleness and compassion, which today includes the LGBT+ community, women with unwanted pregnancies, and Muslims who are receiving hate for the actions of terrorists. Yet, having also spent many hours in debate with those more conservative than myself, I think banning them for their opinions alone is the wrong approach.

Neoliberal society is named so for a reason; I often forget that it has only been four years since gay marriage was legalised, and that it still isn’t legal in Northern Ireland or Australia. Whilst at Cambridge it is easy to get a sense of moral absolutism on this front and to be outraged by dissenting voices, it is naïve to imagine that liberalism holds an overwhelming majority in modern society.

Banning Christian Concern is an aggressive move and will further the rift between conservative Christianity and neoliberal atheism. If anything, it will strengthen the activist resolve of Christian Concern who will believe they have been persecuted by the left, and react against their loss of freedom of speech. The rise of Donald Trump was catalysed by a similar principle, as those still coming to terms with liberalism felt demonised, and pushed further into the reactionary right.

This is a period of change and rethinking for the Church and many Christians are grappling with how to balance the teachings of the Bible with a realisation that for many years, interpretations of the text have discriminated against women and created enormous suffering for the LGBT+ community. Whilst Christian Concern is particularly extreme, there are many right-leaning Christians who would hate to see their personal views hurt others in society, but cannot reconcile their ideas of holiness with a liberal way of thinking.

Many of these moral issues are complex, and whilst the actions stemming from any viewpoint are compassionate and do not infringe upon the rights of others, those holding them should not be regarded as monsters. Reasoned debate is therefore necessary in order to curtail the hostility of Christian Concern, and prevent society from becoming increasingly divided by the demonisation of both left and right.


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Mountain View

By hosting Christian Concern, Sidney turned its back on LGBT+ students

It is worth mentioning that amongst their more inflammatory views, Christian Concern are also vocal about human trafficking and the international persecution of the Church – many Christians are tortured and killed for their faith – two campaigns which are undoubtedly worth pursuing.

This, however, does not excuse their actions whilst at Sidney Sussex, with reports that they have been harassing students working at the College over their views on abortion, and making one LGBT+ student feel so uncomfortable that they resigned from their position, which entailed direct contact with the group. In their duty of care to students, colleges should be a haven free from intolerance, and as such there is no place for such behaviour.

Sidney Sussex is not the Union, where people can actively choose to listen to and engage with controversial viewpoints, but a home for students where everyone should feel respected. The case to ban Christian Concern from hosting mission week at the College is therefore strong. It should be made clear, however, that this is not an act of no-platforming, but a direct response to the antagonistic way the group have previously behaved