Editor's note

Tomorrow, Christians around the world will celebrate the birth of baby Jesus, proclaimed as the son of God. But as Robyn Whitaker writes, the story of his birth is rich with politics, and the idea of “tiny baby Jesus” is not as safe as it might seem.

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Amanda Dunn

Section Editor: Politics + Society

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Wes Mountain/The Conversation

A Christmas story: the arrival of a sweet baby boy – or a political power to change the world

Robyn J. Whitaker, University of Divinity

The biblical story of Jesus's birth is an inherently political story – something that makes many Christians uncomfortable.

Reading alone is more likely to take you into the world of the story. Shutterstock

Hooked on a book, podcast or TV show? Here’s how the story changes you

Tom van Laer, City, University of London

How much you become engaged with a story is known as narrative transportation. And the more a story transports you, the more likely you are persuaded to adopt the beliefs espoused within it.

An activist with the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals spruiks veganism in Sydney’s central shopping district. Nikki Short/AAP

Organic, free-range, fairtrade or vegan: how ethical consumption got so selective

Michal Carrington, University of Melbourne

We all have the blinkers on when shopping with our ethics.

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