Bruce Logan (born 1938) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

conservative Christian author who has been involved in, and is in opposition to

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

social policies Social policy is a plan or action of government or institutional agencies which aim to improve or reform society. Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize soci ...

within his country for over two decades.

Biography

Logan was Head of English at

Orewa College Orewa College is a state coeducational combined intermediate and secondary school located in Orewa, on the Hibiscus Coast north of Auckland, New Zealand. A total of students from Years 7 to 13 (ages 10 to 18) attend the school as of History ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, until he moved south to

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

in the mid-1990s. He became curriculum director at Middleton Grange School, New Zealand's largest

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

/Christian (Integrated) school at the time. While employed there, Logan also acted as Director for the New Zealand Education Development Foundation (NZEDF), which attempted to interest

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

political parties in

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

concerns such as

school choice School choice is a term for education options that allow students and families to select alternatives to public schools. The most common in the United States, by both the number of programs and by the number of participating students are scho ...

, school bulk funding, the abolition of outcome-based education strategies and a

deregulated Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...

post-compulsory tertiary education sector. In ''Cutting Edge'', Logan often reprinted articles from the Institute for Economic Affairs (United Kingdom), British journalist

Melanie Phillips Melanie Phillips (born 4 June 1951) is a British journalist, author, and public commentator. She began her career writing for ''The Guardian'' and ''New Statesman''. During the 1990s, she came to identify with ideas more associated with the righ ...

, ''

First Things ''First Things'' (''FT'') is an ecumenical and conservative religious journal aimed at "advanc nga religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society". The magazine, which focuses on theology, liturgy, church history, religio ...

'' (United States) edited by

Richard John Neuhaus Richard John Neuhaus (May 14, 1936–January 8, 2009) was a prominent Christian cleric (first in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, then ELCA pastor and later as a Catholic priest) and writer. Born in Canada, Neuhaus moved to the United Sta ...

, and other Anglo-American and Australian social conservative publications. He wrote several books for NZEDF, including ''A Questionable Conception'' (1998), which opposed comprehensive sex education; ''A Level Playing Field?'' (1996), which advocated school "choice". He also wrote ''Marriage: Do We Need It?'' (1998) which explored the critical role

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

plays in

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.Maxim Institute The Maxim Institute is a research and public policy think tank based in Auckland, New Zealand. The Institute's work is oriented toward a conservative perspective on its issues of primary concern, which are now education policy, tax and welfare poli ...

. Logan served as its first director and also operated out of Christchurch-based offices, as the Institute had offices in Christchurch and Auckland. Middleton Grange provided premises for their Christchurch offices. Logan also published ''Evidence'', the Institute's "policy journal", which ran for fifteen issues (2001–2005). After the formation of the institute, Logan wrote ''Same Sex Marriage?'' (2000) for Affirm, a

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

-based New Zealand

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

organisation opposed to civil unions, and lesbian and gay

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform v ...

within its denomination. In 2004 he wrote ''Waking Up to Marriage'' which repeated and supplemented earlier conservative social scientific research which encouraged promotion of heterosexual marriage over heterosexual cohabitation, and legal recognition of lesbian/gay civil unions, for the Maxim Institute. During his time at the institute, Logan campaigned against New Zealand's prostitution law reform, euthanasia, lesbian and gay

civil unions in New Zealand Civil union has been legal in New Zealand since 26 April 2005. The Civil Union Act 2004 to establish the institution of civil union for same-sex and opposite-sex couples was passed by the Parliament on 9 December 2004. The Act has been described ...

and other issues related to

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

, family policy and bioethics. In October 2005 a Christchurch ''

Press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a fam ...

'' reader noticed that a couple of sentences in the fortnightly column written by Alexis Stuart (Logan's daughter and Maxim supporter) were identical to sentences in an article by Logan published on the Maxim Institute website. It remains unclear as to who copied what from whom. On 17 October 2005, Paul Litterick of the

New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists (or NZARH) is an organisation, established in 1927 in New Zealand for the promotion of rationalism and secular humanism. The principal aims are stated as: * To advocate a rational, humane, an ...

used Copyscapebr>
a web-based plagiarism detection service, to analyse Logan's published newspaper work. He alleged plagiarism in Logan's work, and published the results in the ''Fundy Post'' (Issues 18 and 19), an online chronicle of the alleged excesses of New Zealand conservative Christians and other faith-based elements. Litterick found that some of Logan's work was taken (in most cases with permission) from Anglo-American sources, which include

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the presiden ...

Institute for American Values The Institute for American Values was a New York City think tank focused on family and social issues.Don S. Browning, ''Marriage and modernization: how globalization threatens marriage and what to do about it'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2003, p. ...

and National Fatherhood Institute,

Maggie Gallagher Margaret Gallagher (born September 14, 1960) is an American writer, socially conservative commentator, and activist. She wrote a syndicated column for Universal Press Syndicate from 1995 to 2013 and has written several books. Gallagher founde ...

(a US social conservative journalist),

(UK),

Conservative Christian Fellowship The Conservative Christian Fellowship (CCF) is an organisation working within the British Conservative Party. Established in 1990 by Tim Montgomerie and David Burrowes, while they were students at Exeter University, the organisation supports ...

(UK) and Digby Anderson,

Social Affairs Unit The Social Affairs Unit is a right-leaning think tank in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1980 as an offshoot of the Institute of Economic Affairs, it publishes books on a variety of social issues. Its website notes that "many SAU supporters are inc ...

(UK). In November 2005, Logan retired from the Maxim Institute. In 2006 he published a handful of articles: one article for New Zealand's non-denominational Christian newspaper ''Challenge Weekly'', four others for the '' Otago Daily Times'', and two online opinion pieces for former ACT List MP and

neoconservative Neoconservatism is a political movement that began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist foreign policy of the Democratic Party and with the growing New Left and count ...

Muriel Newman's New Zealand Centre for Political Debate (now renamed the New Zealand Centre for Political Research). On 24 September 2006, Logan contributed an article to the New Zealand Centre for Political Debate opposing central government administration of

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equita ...

policies. On 14 April 2007, he followed this with another article critical of

Sue Bradford Sue Bradford (born 1 July 1952 in Auckland) is a New Zealand activist, academic, and former New Zealand politician who served as a list Member of Parliament representing the Green Party from 1999 to 2009. Bradford is an eco-socialist. In 2019, s ...

's private member's bill to abolish parental corporal punishment of children in New Zealand, which referred to the earlier abolition of corporal punishment in New Zealand schools in 1990. On 26 October 2006, Logan was a workshop presenter at the conservative Christian organisation Family First's presentation of "Principles of Marriage and the Family" during a symposium entitled the New Zealand Forum on the Family at Butterfly Creek,

. He was not a keynote presenter at the symposium in question. On 22 May 2016, Bruce Logan was cited at the Family First website as a member of Family First New Zealand's Board of Directors In August of 2012, Logan wrote an article about

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

and why it threatens civil liberty in the New Zealand Herald. Logan stated "Marriage is neither essentially religious nor a product of tradition. It is not the child of the state." He also states "We are male and female. In the simple and hopeful business of being alive we have children in a union of consenting responsibility, love and thankfulness. It is the fusing of two opposite halves of the human being through which new life may be created.".

Bibliography

Books

*''A Level Playing Field?'' Christchurch: New Zealand Education Development Foundation, 1994. *''Marriage: Do We Need It?'' Christchurch: NZEDF, 1998. *''A Questionable Conception''. Christchurch: NZEDF, 1996. *''Same Sex Marriage?'' Tauranga: AFFIRM Publications, 2000. *''Waking Up to Marriage''. Auckland: Maxim Institute, 2004.

Newspaper articles

*"How a Government Taxes is the Best Indicator of its Character". ''Otago Daily Times''. 4 July 2006. *"Real Men Should Be Strong and Good". ''Otago Daily Times''. 25 August 2006. *"Individuals Rights Lost in Rush to 'Freedom'". ''Otago Daily Times''. 15 September 2006. *"Denial of Evil Utopian Delusion". ''Otago Daily Times''. 10 October 2006.

Online writing

Welfare - who needs it?
. New Zealand Centre for Political Debate (24 September 2006)

. New Zealand Centre for Political Research (14 April 2007)

References

External links

Maxim Institute
Logan's former employer
Challenge WeeklyFamily First LobbyThe Fundy Post
Blog site of Paul Litterick, responsible for Copyscape analysis of Logan's work.
Gaynz.Com
Politics and Religion columns have frequently covered Logan, the Maxim Institute and other New Zealand conservative Christian organisations {{DEFAULTSORT:Logan, Bruce New Zealand activists 1938 births Living people New Zealand writers