‘There is much in the BHA itself that I celebrate and welcome,’ says Malcolm Duncan, Leader of the Faithworks Movement, ‘but in this report it has fallen into accusatory and exclusive language. The report attempts to consign faith to the edge of society, attacking and misrepresenting who we are and our motivation for what we do. Its language caricatures the faith sector, assuming the worst of us rather than acknowledging the best.

‘The way ahead,’ Duncan says, ‘is not to dismiss faith, but to embrace it whilst at the same time celebrating the rights and responsibilities of humanists and secularists.’

Faithworks agrees with the principle of a level playing field in the commissioning of public services and in the vital link between public benefit and the use of public funds. In fact the recommendations around public benefit and human rights in the BHA report, Quality and Equality: Human Rights Public Services and Religious Organisations mirror some of the objectives and tone of The Faithworks Charter, points out Duncan: ‘There are thousands of projects and groups in the faith sector that already do what the BHA are suggesting. We are pursuing the way ahead – a faith standard that assures public benefit and the correct use of public funds.’

The BHA report, that suggests there is nothing distinctive about what faith groups do, could encourage discrimination against faith bodies. ‘The BHA are calling for faith to be removed from public services in a round about way – that’s not just wrong, it is misguided, dangerous and will doom communities to poorer services. Faith groups have a valuable contribution to make and that contribution is not only at the heart of social and welfare provision, it is at the heart of a healthy and balanced society.

Having said that, Duncan does not want to dismiss the BHA’s report outright. ‘There is much upon which the BHA and Faithworks would agree,’ he
comments. ‘Just as there are good and bad examples of faith projects and work, there are good and bad examples of humanist and secularist projects. I wholeheartedly agree with the BHA’s conviction that there should be a level playing field for faith groups and non-faith groups.

What this report does, however, is caricature both the contribution of secularists and of people of faith. As a Christian, I am as committed to a clearer separation of the roles of church and state as the BHA. As a human being, I am as committed as they are to the dignity of all human beings. As a social activist, I share their abhorrence of discrimination. However, this report suggests that the only way to create a healthy balance is by banning faith communities from the public square.

It is exactly this kind of posturing and language that causes those of faith to ‘fear’ secularism rather than understand it. I encourage the BHA to enter into a balanced dialogue about these issues and offer both my own services and those of Faithworks to Government, the BHA and others in the hope that by listening to one another and understanding where we agree, as well as where we disagree, we might actually move forward constructively and positively together. Our communities deserve the best of our experience and wisdom, not the worst.’

Faithworks is a movement of individuals, projects and churches motivated by the life, example and teaching of Jesus. It is because of our Christian ethos that we celebrate the diversity of British public life and welcome the contributions of all those who are committed to being faithful and active citizens.  We fear statements such as that of the BHA strengthen the stereotypical understanding secularists have of faith as well as strengthening the misunderstanding many people of faith have of secularists and humanists. What we need is a grown up discussion about the responsibilities of those engaged in the public square – whether politically, socially, culturally, educationally or journalistically.

Some Recommendations
• We recommend that any publicly funded, comprehensive and statutory public service to which all citizens have an entitlement should be contracted to either a provider or a group of providers based soley on the ability of that provider or group of providers to deliver a fair, inclusive and effective service which is best value The faith basis of a service provider should never be enough grounds for refusal to contract services to them.

• The ‘reforms’ the BHA are calling for in terms of tackling discrimination and respecting human rights are all supported by Faithworks – they are the very basis of the Faithworks charter. The Faithworks Charter sets out fifteen commitments that ensure services are provided fairly, inclusively, professionally and transparently. We call on government, the BHA and others to work with us on the development of the Faithworks charter to form a faiths standard which will ensure that public funding is always accompanied by provable public benefit.

• We wholeheartedly support the delivery of services by faith agencies and non-faith agencies so long as those agencies work within the framework of non-discimination, inclusion and respect of human rights.

• We resist the view that faith agencies deserve preferential treatment, but we equally resist the view that faith communities are untrustworthy and should be discriminated against.

• We recognise that the UK has strong and workable employment legislation and that Genuine Occupational Requirements exist for certain posts both within faith bodies and within non-faith bodies, such as the BHA. We fully support equalities-based employment practises within the current legislative framework.

• We recommend that the government continues to develop its cross sector approach to community cohesion and the delivery of public services and that the role of faith groups is celebrated alongside the role of non faith groups

• We call on the government to support the development of a faiths standard that will ensure that public services are provided fairly and appropriately across the UK

• We call on government to develop a fairer, non-discriminatory system for the commissioning of public services that understands the ethos and values of both service providers and service users and avoids unfair exclusion of faith communities from funding or the delivery of public services

• Faithworks offers itself (and I offer myself) to the BHA and to the Government to facilitate and participate in a symposium on the place of faith in public life in Britain. We are confident that the interests of communities and of our society are served by enabling this discussion – not removing faith from the agenda or barring us from the public square. We are confident of our faith and our role in British life and do not need to exclude those with whom we disagree.