The event is being hosted by Faithworks and will provide Wallis, the Executive Director of Sojourners and Convenor of Call to Renewal, a US movement of faith-based organisations working to overcome poverty, with an opportunity to set out his vision for faith and politics in America – a vision where American religion positively influences US policies and its relationship with the rest of the world.
Speaking ahead of the event, Steve Chalke said: “When it comes to the vital relationship between faith and politics, Britain stands in the gap between America and Europe. We have avoided the heavy-handed, partisan approach to religion characterised by the Religious Right in America, but also steered clear of adopting a privatised faith removed from politics or public life, too often been evidenced in other parts of Europe.”
According to Chalke, Britain’s healthy approach to integrating faith and politics is down to the fact that, in the UK “people of faith can be found across the political spectrum” and they are often motivated to get involved in politics “to serve the common good” rather than just serving the needs of the faith community they are part of.
Writing in the foreword to the UK version of God’s Politics, Jim Wallis states: “I certainly know how different the social and cultural contexts are in regard to religion – Britain is generally more secular than the United States… but when it comes to the crucial connection between personal values and public life, between spirituality and politics – these are topics that I have found very much alive in the UK.”
The event takes place at 7pm at Church.co.uk, Waterloo (formerly Christ Church & Upton) – directly opposite Lambeth North Tube station. Tickets are available on request by contacting Faithworks on 0207 450 9059 or emailing info@faithworks.info.
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If you have any further queries about this press release please contact Dave Vann, Faithworks Public Relations Officer on 0207 450 9059 or 07855 833525.
Click here to read the Observer's interview with Jim Wallis
God's Politics: Why the American Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Don't Get It by Jim Wallis is published by Lion Books and is available to buy from www.lionhudson.com for £9.99.
Jim Wallis, the outspoken US political commentator hailed as Gordon Brown’s ‘religious guru’ and Steve Chalke, the Founder of Faithworks who has previously advised the Prime Minister and other party leaders on issues of faith, have praised the relationship between religion and politics in the UK. 
