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POLITICS AND THE CHURCH

Canon Mark Bonney, Treasurer (Saturday 1st May 2010)

My recent trip to Washington National Cathedral was a fascinating time to be in DC, particularly as it covered the time of the crucial vote on Health Care reform. The next week I was taken to a prayer meeting of leaders from majority Black churches. Black Pentecostal worship was a little out of my ‘comfort zone’, but it was great to share in the passion of those Christian leaders who the previous Wednesday had gathered on Capitol Hill to meet Black Caucus members about issues surrounding HIV and AIDS. I heard their anguish at the way Black Democrat Senators had been verbally abused by ‘Tea Party’ members. There was a real fear that ancient prejudice lies very near the surface and hasn’t really gone away.

The USA has a very high level of church attendance. Their politicians certainly ‘do God’; where President Obama went to church on Easter Day was the headline story and picture for the Washington Post on Easter Monday. For the most part it would be electoral death for a US politician to say he/she is an atheist. In this country our politicians do not ‘do God’ in the same way, and some say the Church should keep out of politics. However, it is very involved in politics, not least because we have Bishops in the House of Lords, although they are a soft target for anti-religionists and those who want an elected Upper Chamber; may the US system be a warning against having two elected houses! I believe that involvement to be right and good, even if not perfect.

My suspicion is that in both our countries, when God and politics collide, it is individual issues rather than corporate social issues that are at the forefront. In the US, and often here, Christian groups make more noise and protest about issues around abortion and homosexuality than they do about poverty and homelessness. That’s not always the case; the Black leaders I was with were very socially aware and General Synod has sent several letters to Government on broad social issues. But those seeking our votes at this time more often than not appeal to what may make us individually better off rather than to what is going to increase social capital and promote social justice.

I’m always challenged by the words of Bishop Helder Camara who said “When I feed the poor they call me a saint, when I ask, ‘why are they poor?’ they call me a Communist”.

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