TOP 100 NEWS SITES
| |||
|
| |||
| |||
|
| |||
| Religion, no longer under the carpet | Alexander Goldberg This was the decade in which, partly as a result of violent extremism, religion returned to the public squareThe question: What did the noughties mean for religion?September 11 2001 changed everything. Whatever the real motives of the bombers and the continued arguments about their degree of religiosity, the images beamed into our homes of the destruction of the Twin Towers put religion into the media spotlight. The commentariat became theologians overnight turning to scriptural and religious sources to evidence divergent views as to whether "real" religion, whatever that means, was either the cause, the solution or a parallel phenomenon that had nothing to do with the upsurge in extremism.Two years before, the celebration of the new millennium, had failed to give more than a nod and a wink to the obvious Christian anniversary that it marked. Church leaders bemoaned the lack of attention given to religion at the turn of the church's third millennium. For over two centuries religion had been quietly swept under the carpet for the sake of toleration and the unspoken but understood notion that faith belonged in the private and not the public sphere. Perhaps it was not a real surprise therefore that the government confined religion to a "spirit zone" in the dome.Now, all this has changed. The riots in the northern cities in 2001, the aftermath of 9/11 and the London Bombings of 7 July 2005 ensured that Whitehall has a new lexicon. Phrases such as "community cohesion" and "preventing violent extremism" have become bywords, not without controversy, for engaging faith communities.Whilst government "does not do God" it does deal with faith communities on an increasingly wide range of issues. The Department for Communities and Local Government has a section dealing with faith issues; and in recent years No 10 has had a policy expert on faith. The mayor of London has recently set up a consultative group to prepare a major interfaith conference in the capital demonstrating that this is of cross-party interest.The decision by the government to deal so directly with faith groups has brought its challenges for both the communities and the civil service alike. My own community's structures were not originally set up to deal with government consultations except on a small number of issues. Some 20 years ago the community was consulted on issues that impacted directly on Jewish religious practice and on how best to combat attacks on Jews. Today, the community is consulted increasingly on public services, schooling, health, culture, community cohesion, citizenship, international treaty obligations, immigration and care issues to name but a few policy areas. This has led to the community restructuring and expanding capacity in order to give informed opinions on a wider range of topics.Religious communities are wary that this process may lead to increasing interference from the state, something which has been heightened as a result of the recent ruling by the supreme court in the JFS case. However, it has led to communities finding long-forgotten voices on an array of social issues, a sort of quid pro quo for this engagement. The growing number of faith-based social action groups campaigning on equality issues, human rights, child detention, the environment and the reduction of poverty have grown as a direct result of the willingness of politicians across the political divide to listen to them.It is not a question of whether this is a good or bad thing. It has happened. Religion will not disappear back under the carpet, at least for the foreseeable future. This may well be the lasting legacy of this decade.Alexander Goldberg writes here in a personal capacity.ReligionJudaismIslamCommunitiesAlexander Goldbergguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
No progress in India state talks A meeting in India to discuss a "road map" for the proposed new state of Telangana ends without a breakthrough. news.bbc.co.uk |
How should government tackle freeze? As Cabinet Office crisis team, Cobra, meets to discuss the big freeze, key groups tell the BBC what issues the government should prioritise. news.bbc.co.uk |
Israel, Turkey Try to Salvage Alliance The militaries of Israel and Turkey are trying to salvage an alliance severely damaged as Ankara realigns its position in the Middle East. online.wsj.com |
China Looms over Southeast Asia's New Free-Trade Zone A look at which Southeast Asian businesses are best positioned as the region's sweeping new free-trade agreement with China comes into effect feedproxy.google.com |