Faith

During the 2005 general election campaign both the Bishop of London and the Archbishop of Canterbury spoke out on political issues and closer to home the Bishop of Hull has urged Christians to vote.

But is it right for religious leaders to intervene in national political issues? We asked some people in Helmsley if they thought religion and politics should be mixed.

"No I don't, definitely not. I think there are enough issues with politics without getting involved with religion. I think religion is quite a separate thing."

"No not at all. I think there's enough trouble and argument over politics. People of the church are there for the church and nothing else."

So there you have it. The public have spoken. But of course not everyone agrees that things should be so clear. For example St Michael le Belfrey Church in York has organized a question & answer session with parliamentary candidates after the evening service on 01 May.

Is this an unacceptable blurring of the line? We asked the church co-ordinator, Mark Rance.

"We're hoping to help the members of St Michael's make an informed decision when it comes to voting. I think religion and politics are part of our life and therefore they do mix automatically and I think if we can help people to mix them in an informed way then that's what's important.

"I don't think as Christians we should be in the ghetto and not taking part in what's going on in the world."

And Mr Rance isn't alone in his belief that Christians need to engage with politics. Rod Breckon is the minister of New Life Baptist Church in Northallerton.

"I feel our Christian faith affects every part of our lives. It isn't just something we keep for Sundays so we have an opinion on every part of our lives. The politicians about everything from defence to education to healthcare, and I believe there is a Christian perspective on all of those things.

"I think the church has been too reluctant in the past to speak up and I believe it's time the Christian voice was heard. I'm pleased when our Christian leaders make a statement. It's not about party politics - there are Christians in all the major parties - but more about a Christian perspective."

"I think some of the recent political involvement in the Make Poverty History campaign, for example, has been driven by the church. So it shows that we can be a voice when we speak sensitively."

It probably comes as no surprise to hear these arguments from people closely involved with Christian organizations. So we spoke to Professor Haleh Afshar from the University of York Politics department to see what she thought of religious leaders intervening in politics.

"In my opinion, in many ways religion is safer at home and politics in the public domain. But it can be very difficult to separate morality from practicality and politics, particularly at a time when politicians seem to be taking a moral stance on truth. So it becomes almost necessary for the religious institutions to intervene because no-one can claim to have a completely clean conscience in politics.

"Of course as Iranian living away from a country ruled by theocrats I would rather politics were kept separate I don't think they mix very easily. But I do think in the current climate the use made of morality, which I feel itself is immoral, almost demands religious intervention. Against my own better judgement I think sometimes the church has to step in and ask these bad boys to behave themselves. Any sane person who intervenes is in my good books.

So why does the British public get hung up about this issue? Pauline Kollontai is a Principle Lecturer in Religious Studies at York St John's College.

"If you look at the development of Christianity, whilst it became aligned with the state by Constantine it seems there were also divisions created; 'We're the state and we have our responsibilities and you're the church so you need to deal with the spiritual side'."

"I think as Christianity moved across Europe there became an over spiritualisation of the teachings. The quote 'Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's' is taken by some to mean there should be a separation of state and church.

"For example in Nazi Germany the church was so imbued with this idea it even allowed itself to become part of the Nazi ideology and only a minority of Christians opposed that and the policies of Hitler

"It seems people think that if you're going to be so spiritual and religious you have to disengage from the politics of the world and I don't think you can do that.

"Of course in Judaism the line between religion and politics has always been blurred, and that's the case in Islam and in other religions we look at. It just seems to be Christianity where there's been that separation"

But not every faith community agrees with political involvement. Tricia Castle is Secretary of York's Baha'i community. As she explains members of the Baha'i faith avoid getting involved in political arguments.

"The Baha'i faith's underlying premise is unity so we are not encouraged to do anything that promotes the divisiveness of people. Party politics is one of those things because if you're for one lot you are per se against the other lot.

"We're not absolutely forbidden to get involved in politics, and certainly politics in the wider sphere is fine because it covers everything you do, but you have to be very careful and you shouldn't be seen to be aligning yourself with one party.

"We wouldn't be encouraged at all to try and persuade one party or another. Baha'is are working for the betterment of mankind but you wouldn't want influence politicians in a narrow sense."

There are, of course, no definitive answers as ultimately it's a matter of personal conscience. What is clear is that cleanly separating personal faith from personal politics isn't possible for most people.

Do you have an opinion on this subject? Here are some of the comments we've received so far:

Kenneth Firby
"Church and State are equals in importance, not the same thing and mixing the two is confusing."

Ruby James
"I think politics and religion fall on the same track. No matter how much you try to make a distinction, you will always find a connection. Just as everything in this universe is connected. Lets all face it, we are all ruled by politicians. I know some believe in making choices in life, but you are making a choice of what has already been decided for you, by the politicians. Every politician have their own agenda, and they need to promote it. To do this, i believe they need to use, religious values, social values, family values, and cultural values. And that is how they get away. Take a good look at the communist. They followed this philosophy, and look what happened. I hope i am not offending any American out there, when i say that the previous presidential elections is a good point to start, when thinking about religion and politics. Learn more about certain policies, that are directly linked with religion, that was used to gather more votes. Open your eyes, and think out side of the box. Don't be one of those sheep, insted think from a different prespective. Above all, don't let familly or cultural or natural values to cloud your thinking. You will not get anywhere with that."

Richard R. Stelz
"I am writing from London Ohio and I believe that religion and politics don't mix well. Here in the states we have countless denominations and each one has its own opinion of how to interprit the Bible. We have moderates and extremists. Some extremists are willing to go to great lengths impress their beliefs on others. I realize that we bring our values with us but I think politics should represent the middle ground and not be subject to extremists views. We've been drowning in those extremists views lately. One more comment; I hope I am not offending anyone. I realize that my views are from a slightly different culture but I love Britain and its wonderful people. Incidentally, I am a Lutheran by faith."

Edna Elbow
"I suspect that the question is not about politics and religion. Religion is just a set of ideas and practises. It all gets much more interesting when faith expresses that religion. Faith is, by definition, political. It takes a view about society and how we live together. No one is an island. Whatever we believe will influence how we behave and treat other people..and that is political with a small 'p', otherwise known as faith. Religion and Politics (big P!)...that's a bit different. We live in a democracy not a theocracy - on the other hand we are also a monarchy and the monarch is the head of the established church...however, ther's very little evidence of that role in public life. We are people who live in a society and that is political. We should not mind people bringing their convictions to the discussion table, whther they are rooted in a faith or not. The important thing is that in the discussionwe treat one another with respect and dignity - and that is a religious behaviour for some and political behaviour for all"

Alice Prince
"Sincerely held religious beliefs necessarily inform every area of life, though cultural influences originating outside 'pure' religion are hard to separate out. Thus 'religion' has caused war but has also led to many positive social reforms - take the abolition of slavery for instance. Individuals interpret their religion in different ways, which is why people of the same religious persuasion may be in opposing politcal parties, but religion and politics are essentially inseparable because religion leads to beliefs about the structure of society and beliefs about the structure of society lead to political action."

Clive Billenness
"It is the absence of a sense of religious values - or some form of moral code - within politics which may be leading to disenchantment with the process. We now suspect our leaders of being entirely self-seeking and without a spiritual base. It need not be a specifically Christian base - the morality of Christian, Jew, Moslem, Sikh and Hindu are similar in the basic values they embrace and respect. It is the distortion of those by people seeking to abuse religion for their own ends which leads to suspicion and a demand for separation of the two."

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