Rev Dr Tim Bradshaw
Oxford University Theology Department 

Archbishop Justin Welby has said religious groups do much good work in the nation and ‘fill a huge gap’ left by the financial crash and governmental spending cuts.

He was speaking at the launch of the ‘Faith Action Audit’ published by the charity Cinnamon Network.

The report estimates almost two million religious people regularly volunteer to run services such as food banks, drop-in centres, mother and toddler groups, and debt counselling services.

It also says 220,000 projects are serving local communities, helping tens of millions of people.

Archbishop Welby naturally celebrated this fact of religious good work and concluded religion is a good thing for society.

Most of us know of such valuable work going on at local level, but maybe the national scale of it had not struck us.

The Archbishop’s remarks are encouraging, and also raise questions.

I can already feel the hackles rise of non-religious folk who are equally involved in local projects, and quite justifiably.

Many projects exist on a non-religious basis, but are open to volunteers of all kinds, merely asking for goodwill and not worrying about ideologies.

National groups such as the Samaritans, founded by a London vicar, Chad Varah, in 1953, often begin from faith roots but then continue through volunteers who just want to help as well-meaning people.

Many of our local Oxford projects reflect this kind of approach, perhaps peculiarly British, of getting on with the job and never mind the ‘theology’.

The Salvation Army is the denomination best known for its focus on helping the poor and needy, and their approach is inclusive in terms of asking for money to help them do their valued work.

And yet at the same time the Army has a robust Christian faith in Jesus at its core.

I am sure Archbishop Welby would not wish to be thought of as issuing praise only to believers who volunteer, but all helpers, all are made in the image and likeness of God and helping others is surely fitting in with our created calling.

Another possible point of disagreement with the Archbishop could be from those who say that religion is bad for society, causing wars and division.

Professor Richard Dawkins, an Oxford academic celebrity, takes this line because he says religion causes certainty in people who then fight for their beliefs – although he seems pretty certain of his own views, we cannot but notice.

But our television screens are full of war in the name of religion, and Lee Rigby was killed in South London in the name of a tribalistic version of religion, so Dawkins can point to such evidence as well as historic religious wars.

The best advert for faith is that of service to others.

When they reach out to the needy, that is when people notice and are attracted, especially young people who have keen noses for hypocrisy.

The Archbishop also said we have built our society on the idol of materialism, and that itself leaves a gap.

Here we might add that filling the gap of failures of the welfare state by reaching out to the less well-off is a good in itself and is linked – in the believer’s mind – to the goodness of God.

In fact many come to faith in this generous God through participating in welfare voluntarism, it is the best form of evangelism.