FAITH groups bidding to
provide services in the community should not be expected to "act
against sincerely held beliefs", the chairman of Christians in
Parliament said this month.
Gary Streeter, the
Conservative MP for Devon South West, said that local authorities
must pursue "reasonable accommodation" and recognise that "not
every group has to offer services to every person."
He was speaking after the
launch of a new report from Christians in Parliament and the
Evangelical Alliance, which explores the ties between local
authorities and faith groups.
Faith in the Community identified concern
among local authorities that people from other faiths, or from the
LGBT community, might not receive equal access to services provided
by faith groups.
Concern about conflicting
views on sexual relationships is "legitimate" the authors write,
because "the internal contradictions of equality legislation mean
that there are now unresolved tensions between some religious
beliefs and other protected characteristics."
They write of a need to
work out "how to provide faith groups with sufficient space to
authentically live out their beliefs without prevent- ing anyone
accessing services because of their sexual orientation", but note
that "this tension works the other way round as well. . . No
response [from a local authority] referenced the need to protect
religious beliefs from the impact of views different to theirs and
what the promotion of these views might mean for religious free-
dom."
Nevertheless, the report
suggests that councils' fears are "largely unfounded, and should
not be prohibitive to working together". Mr Streeter said that
there was a need for "a little bit of flexibility on either
side".
The report also argues
that the Equality Act (2010) has led to a "reductionist"
understanding of faith among "religiously illiterate" local
authorities. While emphasising the importance of religion and
belief for councils, the Act does so in a "mechanistic, structural
way".
Local authorities that
are trying to comply with it are seeking to be "faith-blind. . .
The prescriptions that equalities legislation places on local
authorities encourages them to consider so many issues, matters,
and subjects as being equally important, which can render the
guidance as nonsensical."
By treating faith groups
solely as an equality and diversity group, councils develop a
"reductionist understanding of beliefs and the impact they have on
their adherents", and fail to grasp the varied and distinctive
contribution faith groups make to the life of their local
community".
Mr Streeter said that
local authorities should develop a "basic understanding that
Christians are motivated to serve other people partly because we
know that God loves these people, and therefore we should love
them, but that it is his command; therefore it should not be a
surprise to people. They [local authorities] must think 'Why are
these people volunteering their time like this?' It is important
that they understand they are not just doing it to get people
saved."
The report, Clearing
the Ground, published last year by Christians in Parliament,
diagnosed "religious il- literacy" in public life and within the
media (
News, 2 March 2012). The new report, based on responses to a
survey from 155 local authorities in England, Scotland, and Wales
(a third of the total) picks up on this theme.
Barriers to greater
engagement included "repeated concern" among local authorities that
faith groups only wanted to provide services for their own
communities, and fear that faith groups might divert funds to
evangelism. The report argues that these concerns are misplaced,
and based on perception rather than reality.
The report says that
faith groups make a "vast contribution" to local communities.
Services and activities run by faith groups ranged from dog
training to anger management to marriage courses; but the three
services consistently cited were Street Pastors, food banks, and
Christians Against Poverty.
Churches reach areas that
local authorities cannot, the report argues, and are made up of
people "compelled by compassion" to reach the most vulnerable in
their communities.
It concludes that "most
LAs make specific efforts to engage with faith groups," but that
central government has abdicated its responsibil-ity to provide
guidance to local authorities on how to develop religious literacy.
It warns: "The Big Society will not be fully realised without faith
groups."
Mr Streeter said that MPs were considering the idea of a
"faith-friendly kite-mark", to be awarded to bodies that
demonstrate an effort to understand faith groups.