Much of the mainstream media has portrayed this as a defeat for the Church. We strongly believe this is not the case. The next 21 months will bring the opportunity for all faith-based organisations delivering public services to think about our distinctives, and about our relationship with the state. Faithworks will continue to engage in dialogue with government and churches to help broker a way forward.

We believe that people have been having the wrong debate, using the wrong language, about the wrong issues. People are confused about the role of institutional Church, the role of religions and the contributions of faith-based providers. They are all different, and we need this national debate and a new Framework for Faith as a way forward to help people come to terms with these, without discriminating against any population groups.

Faithworks will continue to engage in dialogue with government and churches to help broker a way forward.

Having the Right Debate? Issues of Identity, Equality, Influence, Conscience and Diversity

Friday 26th January 2007  

The recent debate over the Sexual Orientation Regulations has highlighted the changing relationship between the State and the Church.  In an attempt to understand this shift, Rev Malcolm Duncan has written a paper exploring issues of identity, equality, influence, conscience and diversity, suggesting how we, as Christians, might respond. 

To read the paper which offers a thelogical perspective, please download 'Having the Right Debate? Issues of Identity, Equality, Influence, Conscience and Diversity' from the right hand panel opposite.

Your perspective on the issues contained within the paper would be welcomed on Malcolm's blog www.malcolmduncan.typepad.com.

To the Members of the Faithworks Movement 
Tuesday 23rd January 2007  

We have followed discussions and developments over the weekend regarding the Sexual Orientation Regulations and Catholic Adoption Agencies in England and Wales with interest. We have also noted some of the comments of Government figures around the issue, and continue to await the Government's soon to be published response to the consultation on the same. 

Below is an extract of a letter which my colleague, Joy Madeiros, Faithworks Public Policy Director, has sent to key Government figures, suggesting a way forward.

Rev Malcolm Duncan
Leader of the Faithworks Movement

Dear Minister,

I write with regard to the potential implications of the SORs for Catholic Adoption Agencies, as debated in the media over the last few days, and also to Government's soon to be published response to the consultation on the same.

In response to the Lord Morrow debate in the House of Lords, Faithworks stepped forward to say that a strong sense of Christian identity and purpose enables the Church to provide goods and services in a non discriminatory way, without that identity being diminished.

In a statement to the media, we said: "While we fully recognise the importance of a distinctively Christian identity, we believe that equality regulations introduced to date in the UK, including the proposed Sexual Orientation Regulations, enhance rather than detract from our humanity by providing protection of rights for all human beings. The regulations are not a threat to a clear Christian identity and ethos. We recognise that we live in a society that has worked hard to create cross-strand diversity and equality, and believe that the Church must be part of this discourse.''

Faithworks recognises that there are a number of views across the Christian community on this matter, indeed across all the faith groups. We also know, from our experience of working with hundreds of churches across all the denominations and with local government that, in the discourse on equality and diversity, society and theology have not met in their understanding of each other.

There is a clear desire for a working relationship between society and faith groups but there is real ignorance on the part of both about how to work with the faith of faith groups.

We believe that the solution is not a choice between the two. We would urge Government not to allow the response to the consultation to further the polarisation that appears to be looming in the form of a vote for or against religious belief or secularism. This would set back the enormous amount of excellent work Government has done over the past few years to bring faith groups to the partnership table and, in the end, would seriously jeopardise essential services to communities. The way ahead is about reaching an understanding that is acceptable to society at large and that does not threaten a faith group's commitment to its faith. We recognise that this will inevitably take time.

However, in the mean time, we respectfully suggest that Government's response to the consultation on the SORs is presented in the context of a wider proposal that sets out the need for faith groups and society to gain a better understanding of each other.

We believe that this proposal requires the active involvement of both Government and faith groups together with a new way of working between the two:

• Government responsibility - we need to move beyond religious literacy training to a government sponsored national campaign to improve faith awareness. Faith is not a given, but is largely a matter of conviction and is therefore different from gender, ethnicity or age in the way it shapes and informs personal identity. The diversity agenda needs to accommodate the deeply personal nature of faith in a more informed way. It cannot treat faith in the same way as it treats age or gender etc.
• Faith groups' responsibility - to help their members understand that the equality and diversity discourse is not about taking away the rights of people of faith but is about achieving an equal and fair society; equality is not in the end about helping minorities but about changing society. Most faith groups would require support themselves in delivering this kind of education to their members.
• New way of working between faith groups and Government - Faithworks believes that one of the obstacles to reaching a solution are the limitations of the institutional Church. The relationship between church leaders and their constituencies can restrict dialogue and exploration in these sensitive issues.

In view of all of this, Faithworks proposes that in addition to the work that government and faith groups need to do, a new Framework for Faith is necessary that is capable of independently considering faith both as a category of diversity and as more than that - a deeply held personal conviction that shapes individual lives and communities.

We believe that such a framework will enable faith groups and society to find a new, hitherto unexplored, place where people of faith can express and live out their personal beliefs and convictions. As a result of society acknowledging their right to do this, 'both parties' will feel able not simply to co exist but behave towards each other in accordance with a mutual understanding of the common good.

Faithworks believes that its independence from denominational structures enables it to play a role in leading the development of this new framework.

Faithworks is a Christian social action Movement with 20,000 members, made up of churches, Christian organisations and individual Christians. Our main objectives are to:

1. Inspire, resource and equip churches to take their place at the hub of local communities, serving unconditionally.

2. Engage positively with the media and government and challenge the often negative and stereotypical perception of the Church.

3. Encourage and enable partnerships that avoid duplication and build collaboration.

The Faithworks Movement is not a denomination and our membership comes from a wide spectrum of all Christian denominations. At a national level we have good working relationships with other faith groups and we encourage churches and Christian organisations to develop the same locally. Our unity is one of purpose and commitment rather than a theological or doctrinal statement of faith.

The unifying factor across the Movement is the conviction of our members that the Church exists to serve others and to engage lovingly and graciously with wider society in a way that is in keeping with the words and example of Christ. This in and of itself is a strong and distinctive contribution of the Movement and an emerging pragmatism across churches in the UK and beyond.

Finally, this is not new thinking for Faithworks. Based on our experience of working with faith groups and Government on the application of the Employment Equality (Religion and Belief) Regulations 2003, we have been calling for this kind of solution for some time. We believe that the ability to articulate and maintain one's faith identity and understand another person's faith identity or no faith identity will not only lead to a resolution of some of the seemingly irreconcilable conflicts within the multicultural agenda but will also help overcome some of the situations that lead to threats of fundamentalism.

We would welcome a time to discuss our proposals at the earliest opportunity.

If you have an opinion on this, please do let us know by joining the discussion on my blog: www.malcolmduncan.typepad.com.