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Rupert Shortt, religion editor for The Times Literary Supplement, is clear-eyed about the state of Christianity in the West. Mainstream churches are facing a significant decline, with some at risk of dying out altogether.  
The census reveals that a minority of British people now identify as Christian, and that trend is mirrored across nearby societies. Many cultural influencers are promoting secularism with the kind of dogmatic zeal they criticise in people of faith. And others, though they’re spiritually curious, remain publicly sceptical of religious beliefs like the existence of God. 
But it’s not all doom and gloom. Shortt argues that church teachings are still both intellectually sound and globally influential. Christianity continues to inspire transformative action around the world and remains a source of hope for humanity. And the church needs to be bolder about saying just that. 

As international conflict escalates, how would Jesus have us seek shalom wherever we stand? Join our expert panel of peacemakers for a powerful evening of stories, insight, and advice. 
Scan the globe and you’ll find over 40 countries locked in conflict that destroys lives and devastates community and creation alike. Russia and Ukraine; Israel and Palestine; the civil wars in Myanmar, Yemen, Syria, Sudan, and Ethiopia; terrorist insurgencies in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo; and border conflicts between Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. If we broaden the lens beyond regional conflicts, we find increasingly hostile relations between NATO and the Western bloc on the one hand and the strengthening axis of Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea on the other. Much like in the early 20th Century, many warn that we are once again stumbling into world war.
As followers of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is his church ready for the complex task of peace-making in wartime, starting right where we are in our daily lives?