Research by the think-tank Onward has produced evidence to show that volunteering, social club membership and church attendance have been dropping significantly in recent years. Many more people are also now living on their own, and local shops and post offices are disappearing. One could add other factors, such as the increased centralization, and therefore remoteness, of Government. The study sees trends such as these as destructive to “social fabric” and our sense of community, particularly in the more deprived parts of the country, and as having damaging political consequences.
Belonging to a local community like a church and contributing to its activities demands tolerance and a willingness to compromise and work alongside others, qualities that are essential for a healthy society as a whole. These qualities are increasingly missing today, as trust in our institutions diminishes and anger, suspicion and fear grow.
Onward‘s report suggests that combating these tendencies should be a priority, and that greater emphasis should be given by Government to community renewal. No doubt this is important, and more support should be give to local community organisations. However, when it comes to church attendance (and, come to that, for mosque, synagogue or temple attendance as well), community renewal and a feeling of belonging may be an important consequence, and for some even a significant motivating factor, but at its heart is something quite different. Churches are religious organisations, and without a faith in God and a commitment to Christ, they and the sense of community they foster would not be possible.
The reality of God is the underlying source of welfare for human society. Without God and God’s care for us and our welfare, we have only ourselves to look to for standards and guidance for living. Some claim it is liberating to do away with God, but the fragility of a purely human foundation for living makes it deeply unsatisfying and dangerous.
We may congratulate ourselves on the moral and humanitarian progress we have achieved over time, but our record is a mixed one, and historically, attempts to build society on explicitly godless foundations have generally been disastrous. Admittedly, the power of religion has not always been used for good, but frequently those who have led the most significant social progress have been men and women of faith. Principles and standards we invent or develop for ourselves carry no authority other than what we choose from time to time to give them. There have been, and are, many different notions about what makes for a good life and a good society. Without God, there is no reliable basis for distinguishing them from each other.
In practice, God’s guidance is not easy to discern, and those who claim to know it can be mistaken. Those who do not acknowledge God at all can of course contribute to a good and just society. Nevertheless, without a foundation to our personal and social welfare that ultimately derives from God, we are lost.
Policy initiatives aimed at renewing a sense of community are important and deserve support. Our most important responsibilities, however, are to bear witness to God and God’s love for us as the only secure foundation for good human relationships, and with humility and resolve to try to build on that foundation.
Peter Shepherd (September 2020)
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