Elizabeth Hunter, Director of Theos, the religion and society think tank, gave evidence last night to the Joint Committee on House of Lords Reform.

Sitting alongside Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association, and following Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, Elizabeth argued that while a clear religious presence in British public life was essential to the democratic health of the nation, that presence should not necessarily be limited to Church of England bishops.

“Religious institutions make a significant positive contribution to society,” she observed. Consequently, “having religious voices within any second chamber is well within the logic of the draft bill and a good thing per se.”

That recognised, the need to reflect the increasingly plural religious landscape within the UK, meant that there was a genuine case to reduce the number of Anglican bishops while increasing the presence of respected non-Anglican and indeed non-Christian figures.

Drawing on research from the Theos report, Coming of the Bench: The past, present and future of religious representation in the House of Lords, and also from a range of polling data, Elizabeth made it clear that public attitude to religious presence in the Lords was largely one of ambivalence rather than support or hostility.

She also observed that the repeated claim that Iran and Britain were unique in having ex officio religious representation in a parliamentary chamber was a red herring, citing the fact that a considerable number of Western European countries, such as Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Germany, and Switzerland, had complex and involved ties between church and state. A successful, functioning democracy clearly did not depend on the separation of church and state.

Britain, Elizabeth argued, should not seek to pursue some imaginary, neutral relationship between church and state but should rather seek a reformed second chamber that was true both to national traditions and to the social reality of a religiously plural nation.

Theos’ written evidence to the Committee can be read here.

Theos’ oral evidence can be viewed here, beginning at around 1:05:00.

-          ENDS –

Notes

1.        Theos is a think tank which offers research and commentary on issues of religion, ethics and society. It was launched in November 2006 with the support of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and the former Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.

2.        Coming of the Bench: The past, present and future of religious representation in the House of Lords can be read here.

For more information, please contact Elizabeth Hunter using the contact details below.

Contact details

Press enquiries should be directed to the Theos Press Office:

Theos - the public theology think tank

E. hello@theosthinktank.co.uk

T. 0207 828 7777

M. 077 963 25170

For further information about Theos, visit http://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/