ARC 2025: Rebuilding Civilisation

Reflections on The Alliance for Responsible Citizenship 2025 London conference

The Alliance for Responsible Citizenship was founded in 2023, partly as a reaction to the craziness of ‘woke’ ideology, but, more significantly, as a positive reframing of the cultural narrative, a rediscovery of Western Civilisation. As they say: “We hope that you will join us on the journey as we build a hope-filled, positive vision for the future.”

The ARC’s Advisory Board is a ‘Who’s Who’ of prominent people with a significant number of Christians included in their number. These include Agu Irukwu, Senior Pastor of Jesus House (ex Investment Banker), Danny Kruger MP, former MP Miriam Cates, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. In addition are great thinkers and leaders, such as Bjorn Lomborg (of 12 Best Things), Douglas Murray, artist Jonathan Pageau, and historian Niall Ferguson. Jordan Peterson is a co-founder of ARC, as too is the CEO, Baroness Philippa Stroud. You feel like you’d love to sit in on their meetings, prominent people with strong Christian inclusion.

Philippa Stroud gave a short introduction, quoting Tolkien:
“‘I wish it need not have happened in my time,’ said Frodo. ‘So do I,’ said Gandalf, ‘and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.’”

You feel like you’d love to sit in on their meetings, prominent people with strong Christian inclusion.

And she quoted also one greater:
“This is what the LORD says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’” (Jer 6:16)

Jordan Peterson’s journey to this is relatively well known: he became a critic of progressivism because he felt it was wrong from a practical psychological standpoint – it didn’t produce good outcomes, especially for men. Peterson was notable for being practically engaged, running a clinic as well as being a Psychology Professor. He started looking for the foundations of Western civilisation and decided the Bible was one of the most important, as it had been around a long time and it contained the best psychological lessons to teach. A number of people have apparently discovered Christianity through Peterson’s YouTube talk, although it would appear that he personally has not yet become a Christian.

One example

ARC 25 was the group’s second conference, and gathered a capacity crowd of 4,000 at the Excel Centre in London in February. Many of the speakers had 15-minute slots – so the talks are relatively bite-size. You can watch their talks on the YouTube channel here. An example is author and political and cultural commentator David Brooks, who recommends new-conservatism from a Christian-sympathetic position.

Some may not necessarily agree with David Brooks – who probably comes from a more liberal perspective than most evangelicals. On DOGE (the department in the US government tasked with eliminating waste), Brooks seems to contend that things are so bad that changing gently would take twenty years, so a strong course-correction is needed now. Brooks also said that just turning ‘right’ is not enough – which I would agree with.

Brooks contends that things are so bad that changing gently would take twenty years, so a strong course-correction is needed now.

It’s been said that the likes of Trump, Musk, and Robert Kennedy Jr are really old-style Democrats and the feeling of abruptness with the changes in the US just shows how far the Progressives took that country (as they have in the UK). True conservative statehood starts with the 10 Commandments (as Alfred the Great established in England) and they are some way off that.

Brooks concluded that“culture changes when a creative minority find a beautiful way to live, culture changes when a small group of people find a better way to live and the rest of us copy” (11:40) He holds up the ‘Clapham Sect’ (Wilberforce & friends) as an example, who transformed Britain’s attitude to slavery. However, what Brooks failed to say was that that only works if you walk with the One with whom Wilberforce walked.

Art and Wonder

Owen Strachan (theology Prof, now with James Dobson Family Institute) has also written about his time at ARC. He highlighted the focus on art, especially the piece Sunflowers in Babylon by Englishman Joshua Luke Smith. The video is powerful for the unexpected Christian understanding that runs through it, with references that Christians will recognise and feel.

Strachan comments: “This evocative moment was the closest ARC came to a necessary but often-neglected duty today: remembering the good that is in our past. The irony is that, if we are to tell a better story, we must remember the noble past. We are, after all, conservatives. This does not mean that we store up memories in dusty cases; it means that we are the truly future-oriented, for we dare to believe that by God’s grace tomorrow can dawn, and many can prosper in it.”

This is something that is on my heart, and which I and others have tried to do, so it’s moving to hear this spoken of on such a prominent stage.

This and other art-related presentations are amazing to see – God really moving in unexpected places, revealing His love and invoking wonder (so different from a small gallery of my acquaintance!):

Sabin Howard The Story Behind America's Most Powerful War Memorial
Makoto Fujimura Kintsugi - gold grace “The substance of things hoped for the evidence of things unseen”.

Os Guinness

Os Guinness, one of the foremost Christian thinkers, now in his early 80s, also spoke at ARC. He challenged the idea that just promoting Christendom or Psychology is enough:

“The Christian faith will not do anything for civilisation if it’s viewed as useful. It will do nothing for civilisation if we turn it into a psychological version of whatever. It will only be true and effective if it's understood to be true and you have enough people who are citizens who have an ultimate loyalty to what they see is ultimate reality.”

God (is) really moving in unexpected places, revealing His love and invoking wonder...

He hijacks David Brooks’ words:
“It was 60 years ago that I first heard the music and I hear it daily and I hear it as I cross the world still and I hear a growing Symphony and I hear a growing chorus. May all of us who understand these things at ARC be part of that creative minority who at this crucial moment in civilisation in the West will truly make a difference.”

Os was cheered during his message – at an eclectic meeting of 4,000 people.

Overall

It seems slightly eerie to hear this sort of message – Christianity being praised by non-Christians! Is God working through them? Only time will tell.

But this addresses a challenge to the Church at large. We are in danger of being left behind if Christians don’t also articulate a similar broadness of vision as our Puritan nation-builders did.

Jon Sharp, 04/04/2025