On Monday 25th April Sherborne Abby will be welcoming Ben Ryan to a lecture and study day, to speak on the upcoming EU referendum.
Ben will speak in relation to Theos' most recent report, A Soul for the Union, of which he is author.
The specific debate in the UK over the European question has been illustrative of a general trend across Europe, with arguments focusing almost entirely on technical issues, and with an underlying assumption that the single real measure on which to measure Europe is economic. This approach, though particularly prevalent in the UK is one that has been growing across Europe for some years, and is quite unlike the priorities and assumptions that shaped the earlier European project.
Ben’s report charts the development of the European project, from its origins in 1950s Christian Democracy, with a strong focus on solidarity and peace, through to its current period of crisis. It argues that today’s EU has lost sight of its founding principles and instead placed excessive focus on a particular conception of national economic performance.
Ben argues that this is a weak basis for political union. A union worth saving would be on stronger ground if it could develop a clearer, explicit moral purpose that resonated with its citizens. Perhaps more simply, if the EU is going to be worth saving it needs to discover a soul.
£5, Monday 25th April, 19:30 - 21:00
The Digby Church Hall
Digby Road
Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3NL United Kingdom
01935 812452 (office hours only)
£5.00
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Image by Paul Miller from flickr.com available under this Creative Commons licence
