Church and Politics?
IT’S OFTEN SAID that the Church should keep out of politics. But what about the other way round? Perhaps the way we do politics could teach the Church some lessons. In a well-functioning democracy (remember that?), we have a way of disagreeing without it leading to civil war.
At its best, democracy has a culture of not hating one’s opponents and even respecting them. Apologies to readers in the US, I may have a different political opinion from you, but you are still my fellow countryman. Because we cherish peace, we agree to follow the opinion of the majority.
This disagreement can be quite public and open. Of course we can all think of examples of less harmonious politics, but there are issues where reasonable people can reasonably disagree.
So often this contrasts with disagreements in church where we find harsh words, sometimes even the demonising of opponents, especially where there is online anonymity. But first we just pretend, brushing disagreement under the carpet, and maybe that’s part of the problem. Maybe we feel that we shouldn’t disagree because we’re all Christian!
In the Church of England, there is a great emphasis on unity. ‘Walking together’ even in disagreement. But it’s not working very well. I wonder whether it would have been easier if we were more ready to acknowledge our disagreements, rather than division growing under the surface and then bursting out over some issue (currently arguments over same sex relationships) without the habit and culture that we find in a mature democracy.
You could argue that the Church is not a democracy, but where does that leave us? That we should just obey the Bishops? Or some other less formal leadership? It’s no good just saying we follow the Bible, or the tradition, because the arguments are all about how we interpret these.
So perhaps we should have been more open all along about where we disagree, and perhaps agree to disagree, in peace. For example, I think the traditional way we treat the Bible is entirely unjustified. Why should we think it is uniquely reliable? That leads to a conversation. Readers of my last Talking Point may recall that I think we misunderstand Jesus by understanding the cross as something he did only for us; we should see it as an example we are to follow.
Perhaps if we could be honest about these disagreements, we could nurture a culture and a habit of disagreeing agreeably. I have colleagues whom I disagree with profoundly about some aspects of faith, but I know that they are good people. If we can be friends with people of other faiths and work together, why not different sorts of Christian? Some of my best friends are Evangelical Christians. We disagree but we still love each other.
Revd Nigel Jones – Vicar, St. Andrew’s, Caversham
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