Faithworks sees Kennedy call for Greater Trust in Faith Groups

The Liberal Democrat leader, Charles Kennedy has spoken out during the first of a series of lectures for the Faithworks group. He expressed that fundamentalist groups within religion should not drive local councils into being hesitant to use faith groups. He told how he thought that churches had to work against distrust that has resulted from continued headlines regarding homosexuality and abortions.

In the USA, the role that faith groups have to play on vital topics in society has come under intense scrutiny, and many calls have been made for the groups to play a greater role within the education and public services sectors.

The Liberal Democrat leader stated, "Of course, the headlines are often about abortion, sexuality or blasphemy laws, but they are a distortion."

He continued, "What people sometimes fail to acknowledge or recognise is that the focus of most faith based organisations is more practical and more domestic. It's a matter of battling poverty, here and abroad; or seeking to give our children a decent start - keeping them away from drugs and crime; and, at the other end of the lifespan, caring for our elderly and infirm."

Kennedy expressed his concerns that many local councils may find it hard to trust faith groups, as they feared that their workings may be tainted with a religious message or used to spread fundamentalist views through society.

He was quoted as saying, "But to take this principle to its extreme and rule out involvement of faith groups from delivering benefits to local people is an attitude that is out of date and patronising, and it is also an enormous waste. Society should put that commitment and that potential to good use."

Kennedy said that churches had the tough job of overcoming this trust issue, and that churches had to approach this problem by showing that charity should be all-inclusive.

He said that despite the murmurs that Britain is "turning away from organised religion", in contrast it was striking to see so many people seeking places of worship in the aftermath of the tsunami tragedy.

Kennedy said, "It is vital that we don't exercise all mention of belief from the political world. Religious faith of all denominations can provide society with a moral compass - a sense of what is right or wrong that doesn't shift in the winds of political expediency."

He concluded by saying that above all things, the public wanted politicians who believe in something.