John Sentamu: In these times of uncertainty, the role of the Church can hold society together

We live in fractious and uncertain times, in which the role of the national church, like other elements in the social fabric, is constantly questioned and often attacked. What is the particular contribution the Church of England can make in such a time and how should we go about making it?

First, we must assert the value and importance of the contribution of trust in God to our national life. Believers in God and their communities are part of the glue which holds our society together.

Of course, religious faith can be a source of division in society, but so can many other differences in human understanding and allegiance. The fact is that all our communities benefit from the contribution of those who adhere to the worship of God, expressed in a life of service to their fellow human beings.

Secondly, among the religious communities, the Church of England, as the national church in England, is particularly called to the task of building up the wellsprings of solidarity in our society. Those outside the Church of England often see our established status as being about privilege.

From the inside, the privileges (in the sense of benefits solely available to us) appear to be rather few (particularly perhaps from the perspective of a bishop forced to endure yet another long sitting in the House of Lords).

The greatest privilege we have is, of course, not a unique benefit but rather our greatest responsibility – that of living alongside and ministering to every community, large and small, up and down the country. That is both the opportunity and the obligation we have.

It is fashionable among some contemporary religious progressives, as well as among secularists, to question the established nature of the Church of England. However, certain Gospel truths endure.

One is the fact that the love of God extends to all, rich and poor, saint and sinner, believer and unbeliever. A second is that everyone, and every institution in society including the Church itself, sits under the judgement of God.

These truths have informed the development of all our social institutions. Of course, the Church of England was born out of political as well as religious motives and to our shame we have not always behaved as we should have done towards those whose theological views differed from our own.

But, as the influential social and political thinker, Philip Blond, has argued, the established nature of the Church of England, as it has evolved over the centuries, has helped to create conditions favourable to the development of “a more diverse political and social life, prevented religious extremism and helped to minimise partisan conflict and secular violence”.

So, within the context of asserting the contribution all faith communities can make to the common good, the Church of England can exploit all the opportunities it has been given as the national church to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God to all of the communities in this land.

We must also actively continue to seek to influence the terms of the national debate on key issues affecting our society. I do not accept the arguments of those who try to confine the church to purely private matters; who say that Christian convictions should have no place in questions of public morality.

Then there are those who claim that we are unqualified to participate in the great debates of our day. Of course, we cannot assume a right to be heard and must establish that right not only by our demonstrable commitment to the common good but by the competence of the contributions we make.

If we are to do that, we have to begin by ensuring that we properly understand the nature of the issues confronting our society.

One of my own relevant initiatives in the past year has been to bring together economists, social thinkers, contemporary historians and theologians at Bishopthorpe to reflect on some of the implications of the credit crunch and its aftermath.

I am today publishing, on a new website – www.archbishopofyorksymposium.org – some papers presented at two symposia convened by me, so that the contributions made there may be available to a wider audience. A number of themes stand out.

The first is the need for a more honest, informed and measured style of public debate on the great issues of the day. It is understandable that politicians on all sides will want to present their case as persuasively as they can. The Church needs to stand among those who represent the “still, small voice of calm” as the debate swirls around us.

The second is the urgent case for focusing on and repeatedly affirming certain essentials of the Gospel which should underpin our contemporary social understanding – that all men and women are of equal worth in the sight of God; that the purpose of human society is to enable all men and women to flourish in relationship to God and to each other; that society should be structured in a way which both encourages enterprise and creativity, and meets individuals’ basic needs.

The third theme is the need to nurture and sustain the many Christians who day-by-day seek to live out their faith in the context of work or of their contribution to civil society.

For me, and I’m sure for many others, a major concern is the extent to which the social compact which the Welfare State represented is now under threat.

There is an urgent need for the Church once more to rise to the challenge and to lead reflection on how the social compact can be re-fashioned in ways that make sense in the light of today’s serious social and economic realities.