Social:James Orr (British academic)
James Orr | |
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| Born | James Tristan Ward Orr |
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| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Philosophy |
| Sub-discipline | Philosophy of Religion |
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James Tristan Ward Orr (born November 1978) is a British[1] academic and philosopher. He is currently an associate professor of Philosophy of Religion at the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge. Formerly, he spent four years as a McDonald Postdoctoral Fellow in Theology, Ethics, and Public Life at Christ Church, Oxford.[2][3]
He is also a National conservative commentator and has been described by JD Vance as his "British sherpa".[4][5][6] He has written for many publications on the themes of Christianity, academic freedom and the Trump/Vance administration.[7][8] In March 2025 he was interviewed for the Today podcast.[9]
He is UK Chairman of the Edmund Burke Foundation which aims to aim of strengthening the principles of national conservatism.[10] and on the advisory Council of the Free Speech Union.[11]
Career
After studying Classics at Balliol College, Oxford, Orr became a corporate lawyer first at Freshfields, then Sullivan & Cromwell, in London. Thereafter, he returned to academia to take an MPhil and PhD in Philosophy of Religion at the University of Cambridge.
In recent years, Orr has publicly commented on topics including conservatism, religion, and current affairs.[12][13]
Free Speech and Academic Freedom
Orr has been involved with a debate around free speech at the University of Cambridge. In 2020 he was one of those behind an amendment to the University's Statement on Freedom of Speech, seeking to replace the word “respect” for the opinions of others with “tolerance”.[14]
In November 2021, Jordan Peterson was invited by Orr to address an audience at the University of Cambridge. Creating a lot of controversy from student groups.[15] Eventually the visit went ahead.[16]
References
- ↑ "James Tristan Ward Orr". Companies House. London. 24 January 2024. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/BDVfN8ws42PNeIDM-egzNM1EpXk/appointments.
- ↑ "Dr James Orr". Cambridge University. Cambridge. 24 January 2024. https://www.divinity.cam.ac.uk/directory/dr-james-orr.
- ↑ Chapman, Ben (17 December 2023). "They still can't work out what the definition of a religion is, says James Orr". GB News. London. https://www.gbnews.com/news/world/james-orr-religion-definition-latest.
- ↑ "Meet JD Vance’s English philosopher king". 19 September 2024. https://www.politico.eu/article/jd-vance-english-philosopher-james-orr-national-conservative-movement-uk-us-election/.
- ↑ "Meet JD Vance's 'British Sherpa' mentor". 27 October 2024. https://www.nprillinois.org/2024-10-27/meet-jd-vances-british-sherpa-mentor.
- ↑ McElvoy, Anne (29 September 2024). "Faith, family, free speech – JD Vance’s mentor on why his man is the future of the Republicans". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2024/09/29/jd-vance-mentor-james-orr-us-election-republicans/.
- ↑ "James Orr, Author at The Spectator". 12 March 2025. https://www.spectator.co.uk/writer/james-orr/.
- ↑ "Author: James Orr". https://thecritic.co.uk/author/james-orr/.
- ↑ "The Today Podcast - JD Vance: does Trump’s VP really hate Europe? - BBC Sounds". https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002976f.
- ↑ "Personnel - Edmund Burke Foundation". https://burke.foundation/people/.
- ↑ "About Us". 16 February 2023. https://freespeechunion.org/about/#AC.
- ↑ Orr, James (29 September 2023). "We should not surrender our culture to the liberal American elites". Telegraph. London. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/we-should-not-surrender-our-culture-to-the-liberal-american/.
- ↑ Orr, James (26 May 2023). "We must remove Labour's limitations and restore conservatism". The Times. London. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/we-must-remove-labours-limitations-and-restore-conservatism-099n9zzf0.
- ↑ "Students at Cambridge say Divinity Faculty needs to combat its ‘racist views’". https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2022/25-february/news/uk/students-at-cambridge-say-divinity-faculty-needs-to-combat-its-racist-views.
- ↑ Orr, James (13 October 2023). "Divinity Don slammed for 'racist' remarks". Varsity. Cambridge. https://www.varsity.co.uk/news/26271.
- ↑ Orr, James (24 November 2021). "Jordan Peterson heals old wound on Cambridge return". UnHerd. Cambridge. https://unherd.com/thepost/jordan-peterson-heals-old-wounds-with-cambridge-return/.
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