McDonald Centre

The McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics & Public Life is a research institute in the University of Oxford, which is associated with the Faculty of Theology and Christ Church. Its director is Nigel Biggar[1], Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology. The current McDonald Fellow for Christian Ethics & Public Life is John Perry.

The Centre supports research on the contribution of Christian traditions to the understanding of moral life in conversation, with other traditions of religious and philosophical thought. It fosters collaboration both between theology and other disciplines, and between academia and those who shape public deliberation and policy. In publishing the research that it supports, the Centre addresses academic, church, and wider public audiences.

In 2017, the McDonald Centre attracted controversy after receiving funding from Oxford University for its project Ethics and Empire[2][3], which Director Nigel Biggar said aimed to "pay careful attention to the historical variety of things that empire can be, and work out a more sophisticated way of evaluating them morally.” In response, more than 170 scholars of imperialism signed a joint letter condemning Oxford University's support for the project. The signatories stated that “We are not surprised that such an approach should be recuperated by Prof Biggar – a long-time apologist for colonialism – but we are alarmed that the University of Oxford should invest resources in this project.”[4]

Professor Biggar has since stated that he conducts seminars on Empire in private because of the negative reaction of students at Oxford University, and that "the British should feel both guilt and pride over their imperial past".[5]

  1. ↑ "Nigel Biggar | McDonald Centre". www.mcdonaldcentre.org.uk. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  2. ↑ O'Halloran, Erin. "Ethics and empire: an open letter from Oxford scholars". The Conversation. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  3. ↑ "Oxford scholars oppose empire project". BBC News. 2017-12-20. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  4. ↑ Adams, Richard (2017-12-22). "Oxford University accused of backing apologists of British colonialism". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  5. ↑ "'If I Want to Hold Seminars on the Topic of Empire, I Will Do So Privately': An Interview with Nigel Biggar - Quillette". Quillette. 2018-06-07. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
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