In the course of a debate on the Convention of the Future of Europe in the House of Lords on 7 January, the Bishop of St Albans raised a point that has become an obsession with the ecumenical churches.He said, “’Europe’ can and does cope with private expressions of religious belief, but it is not coping, cannot cope and wilfully will not cope with institutional or communal forms of religious belief, of whatever faith that belief may be.”
He insisted that, “the possibility of God should not be kicked into the margins in our debate about European institutions and the European future. However, my experience of the European institutions as they are emerging is that God is simply discounted and denied – ‘Laicity rules okay’ and that secularist ideologies of governance are becoming stridently and assertively exclusive.”
Rome and the ecumenists want to be recognised officially by the state and to have a defined position in the Government, rather like the English bishops in the House of Lords.
The ideal relationship between State and Church has evaded mankind throughout the ages, except perhaps for the theocracy of ancient Israel at its best. The Scots accuse the English established church of erastianism, that is allowing the state to dictate in the internal affairs of the church. The English accuse the Scottish church of the opposite – interfering in the province of the state.
The American system of complete separation of state and religion sounds fine but it means that the state cannot officially pray to God in distress or praise Him in deliverance. A series of lawsuits in the US are taking the separation of church and state to its logical absurdity. A court has banned the phrase, “In God we trust”. In other words, complete separation of church and state simply hands the oyster to the secularists.
So where does the EU stand in this matter?
The EU appears on the face of it to be the fulfilment of Rome’s dreams of a resurrected Holy Roman Empire. Its rulers are Roman Catholic. But they are suspicious of Rome. It is said of the French that they do not go to church but the church that they do not go to is the Church of Rome. The rulers of the EU are rather like that. They are Roman Catholic by culture but deeply suspicious of Rome’s machinations. At heart they are secularists.
Moreover the EU now have the Protestants of north west Europe, plus a large and aggressive Moslem community together with a massive influx of Eastern Orthodox to play off against Rome.
As a result the EU is slow to give official status to any ecclesiastical body. Protestants are not likely to achieve much status in the foreseeable future, so it probably suits us best in practice for things to stay much as they are. Secularism persecutes, but Rome and the ecumenists would be worse. Yet a cloud hangs over the horizon. That is the Soul for Europe project. Under this name the EU is recruiting the churches to promote itself. No doubt the EU will have to come to an agreement with its churches and religions in return for their support.
Presumably the state will recognise some ecumenical, interfaith concoction headed up by the Pope. But the state is still determined to make it subservient to its political interests.
Provided the arrangement brings the Pope power and money, he will not trouble too much about the theology. After all, he has already held interfaith gatherings at Assisi where the theological implications were conveniently forgotten while he posed for his photo seated in the place of honour at the centre of the leaders of other religions.
Of only one thing can we be sure: that the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His saving power will continue to spread like leaven and ultimately prevail against all the odds.
