Go Rowan Go. Don't stop now!

The Christian message can still make headlines. The Archbishop's article published in The New Statesman questions the coalition's economic and political authority and the news channels have been reporting on it almost all day. In this era of supposed religious, especially Christian, decline we have today seen the Church of England take up the mantle of public prominence. 

In speaking out, the Archbishop is showing that the Church has a vital role to play in addressing basic human democratic rights. I am not going to dissect the Archbishop's view of the coalition. Plenty of that is being done. I am, instead, applauding the highlighting of the role that the Church still has in our multicultural and multi faith society. The Archbishop will have left a lasting impression that the church is very much on the front line. All that talk of of dwindling numbers in pews and churches being turned into supermarkets cannot diminish the Christian strength.

The question has been raised about why the Church is interfering in state affairs? I think the answer is because it is Christian to speak out and to fight for a fair and equitable society. The inter-relationship between the state and the Church is far more stalwart than people realise. The Christian faith provides a moral framework that has been adopted by the state. Some of the 10 Commandments have been worked into our legislative system. The Church supports the UN Millenium Development Goals. The Church has a say in education through our CoE schools. The Church has an influence on policy makers beyond measure and it is only right that the Archbishop speaks out. If one needed more evidence of this then consider the fact that Archbishop Desmond Tutu was told to keep out of politics because he wanted to see an end to apartheid.