Time for the Church and State to Reconnect

Most frequently people of faith have inspired government to become more fully engaged in social services throughout the 20th century.
by Michael Van Pelt

CBC foreign correspondent Brian Stewart says his job involves reporting on the world's greatest human tragedies. Yet what he has found—and what he recently told Knox College's 160th convocation class—is that there is "no movement, or force, closer to the raw truth of war, famine, crises and the vast human predicament than organized Christianity in action."

He continued, "I've never reached a war zone, or famine group or crisis anywhere where some church organization was not there long before me … sturdy, remarkable souls usually too kind to ask, 'What took you so long?' "

When there are crises in our world, the people who move most swiftly to alleviate human suffering are almost always under the flag of a faith-based organization.
The Salvation Army has been patrolling the streets of the world's cities and providing food and shelter to the homeless, the addicted, the mentally ill and anyone else who has fallen by the wayside for 140 years. Long before governments became engaged in the provision of social services, churches were opening their doors to the destitute. It was most frequently people of faith who inspired government to become more fully engaged in social services throughout the 20th century.

It is worth recalling on this year's 200th anniversary of the abolition of the British slave trade, that the Christians were in the vanguard of the abolitionist movement. No matter what the current view of separation of church and state, the foundations of the compassion required to inspire the alleviation of human suffering can be found in the calling to "love your neighbour as yourself."

So, how has it happened that we have now separated the foundation of social services from the state?

The separation of church and state should not mean silence between these two great organs of society.

Instead, if governments and citizens alike are interested in serving to enrich urban centres and restoring the broken and the downtrodden, a revitalized partnership between faith institutions and government is essential.

And this isn't just in the downtowns of cities, where Brian Stewart and other correspondents might find concentrations of pain and headlines. Institutions of faith are unique because they connect people's most important beliefs locally, wherever they are. That's why cities such as Calgary, with booming housing industries and sprawling suburbs, need to pay close attention to the social and public space that faith institutions protect.

Institutions of faith planted and flourishing in communities, especially suburbs, draw us out from behind our expensively mortgaged housing developments and into conversation with the land and the people around us. Planning for churches and other public spaces in suburbs is critical for the social future of these developments.

In many ways, a lot of this is old news. Everyone knows about the Salvation Army, the downtown church that serves a bread-and-milk program, or the suburban church that brings in neighbourhood kids for sports and fundraisers. But why aren't city governments talking to these people, who have the local knowledge, support and motivation to make urban plans really work? Effective societies work to engage their various sectors to work for the greater good, not build walls between them. It's time to re-engage faith-based organizations in our changing social architecture to best serve those we find in need.

Michael Van Pelt is president of the Work Research Foundation.