Conservative Party chairman Baroness Warsi promised this week that religious faith will be restored to the heart of British politics.She was speaking to Church of England bishops in Oxford.
The previous Labour Government had got things "profoundly wrong" on faith, she said. It had viewed religion as "essentially a rather quaint relic of our pre-industrial history." It had acted as if faith was confined to "oddities, foreigners and minorities."
It was "too suspicious of faith's potential for contributing to society." Behind every faith-based charity, it "sensed the whiff of conversion and exclusivity." Because of these prejudices, it had not created policies to unleash the positive power of faith in society.
The environment had encouraged the "rise of a new kind of intellectual, who dines out on free-flowing media and sustains a vocabulary of secularist intolerance."
Lady Warsi, herself a Muslim, said a Government was needed that understood faith, that was comfortable with faith, and that when necessary was prepared to speak out about issues of faith. Faith groups played a key role in David Cameron's vision of a Big Society, she said, and would have more opportunity to set up schools and carry out public services.
"When you think about it, it's incredible that many people of faith give up their evenings to work as street pastors, making sure that young men are less at risk of knife crime and young women less likely to run into trouble after a night out.
"Under our plans, you will have more power, more responsibility, and more choice over how to get involved in your communities and how to apply your skills.
"I want to tell you that for me you are at the heart of society already and the key to its future, and that this Government will be on your side."
Lady Warsi's view of the previous Government is about right. Thirteen years of Labour rule created a political correctness where Christian faith was acceptable only if it was not mentioned in public.
Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has also made encouraging noises recently about using faith groups in society. "The days of the state trying to suppress Christianity and other faiths are over," he is reported to have said.
But Prime Minister David Cameron has not shown himself keen to listen to Christian views. He has pursued the homosexual vote with considerable diligence, but seemingly had little concern for the Christian vote. Some have even suggested that his failure to regard Christian mores was the reason for his failing to win an overall majority of seats at the General Election.
If Christians are to be free to be used in society, will there come with that freedom a respect for what they stand for? Or is it only other religions - forgive the thought - that are to be at the heart of British politics?
We shall see.
