Young People and Far Right Extremism: The Church as Help or Hindrance?

A day to reflect on the influence of far right extremism on young people and the church's response and what we can do going forward. The day will begin with a introduction from Maria Power and Helen Paynter, editors of 'The Church, the Far Right, and the Claim to Christianity'.

Speakers include:

• Patrik Hermansson from HOPE not Hate
• Hannah and Gemma from Youthscape
• A workshop run by Clare Hooper, Regional Minister and Children, Youth & Families Missional Developer for SCBA
• William Allchorn, author of

Lunch is not provided.

Session Descriptions

Youthscape: Intentional Positioning: Investing in Christ-Centred Youth Work to Attend to the Risk of Radicalisation

Hannah and Gemma, Senior Researchers from Youthscape’s Centre for Research, will critically reflect on what it means to intentionally position ourselves and our churches in order to invest in Christ-Centred youth work and attend to the risk of radicalisation. They will also consider what it means to invite young people into healthy relationships within churches, how to demonstrate and encourage critical thinking, and what church can look like when it responds to their prophetic voice.

William Allchorn: Christgram: Traditionalist, Apocalyptic & Authoritarian narratives among Extreme Far Right Youth

This talk focuses on neo-Nazi Christian extremist youth communities on the popular end-to-end encrypted messaging platform, Telegram. It analyses their key traditionalist, apocalyptic & authoritarian narratives, their theological standpoints, and discusses their aesthetics and prescriptions for religious practice. Based on this analysis of the digital manifestations of neo-Nazi extremism, it argues that the role of religion in general and Christianity in particular within extreme right communities deserves greater attention from the research community – especially in relation to young people.

Clare Hooper (Workshop): Longing to Belong

If participation is a key aspect of belonging, then how are we enabling this in our church? This workshop will give space for us to reflect on our practice and some tools to help with increasing participation amongst our ministry and mission with young people.

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Helen Paynter is the Executive and Founding Director of the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence (CSBV). She is also a Baptist minister and tutor at Bristol Baptist College. Her PhD thesis was on seriocomic humour in the book of Kings, and her current research interests focus mainly around the narrative hermeneutics of Old Testament texts of violence. Helen is the author of a number of books, including Blessed are the Peacemakers, The Bible Doesn’t Tell Me So: Why you don’t have to submit to domestic abuse and coercive control, God of Violence Yesterday, God of Love Today? Wrestling honestly with the Old Testament, Violence and Peace in Sacred Texts: Interreligious perspectives.

Maria Power is a Fellow of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford where she is the director of the Human Dignity project at the Las Casas Institute for Social Justice. Her research aims to use the teachings of the bible to overcome structural and cultural violence in Britain and Ireland. Maria’s latest book, Catholic Social Teaching and Theologies of Peace in Northern Ireland: Cardinal Cahal Daly and the Pursuit of the Peaceable Kingdom was published by Routledge in 2020.

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Hannah Bowden is a Senior Researcher within Youthscape’s Centre for Research. After completing her PhD, Hannah worked as a Family Support Worker in a Secondary School before joining Youthscape. She is also an Independent Panel Member for a fostering agency and is passionate about young people on the margins, particularly young people in local authority care. Hannah focusses on the qualitative research within the Centre for Research.

Gemma Madle is a Senior Researcher within Youthscape’s Centre for Research. Passionate about research and evidence informing youth work, Gemma uses the quantitative knowledge and skills from her PhD and her experience as a qualified youth worker to focus on the quantitative research within the Centre. She is also a volunteer youth worker and a local Councillor.

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William Allchorn is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute, Anglia Ruskin University and an Adjunct Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations at Richmond, the American University in London. Recently, William’s research has shifted to studying the violent far right threat landscape. His latest book, Moving beyond Islamist Extremism - Assessing Counter Narrative Responses to the Global Far Right, was published by Ibidem (an imprint of Columbia University Press) in early 2022.

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Clare Hooper brings 30 years of youth work experience into this space and maintains that good youth work is a good way of working with all people, regardless of their age. She’s currently the Co-Team leader for Southern Counties Baptist Association, a tutor for children, youth and families at Bristol Baptist College and facilitates the children, youth and families round table for Baptists Together. She has a passion for holding spaces so that all voices can be heard and facilitation that encourages the participation of everyone.

Host or Publisher Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence