Does Government Do God?

Conversation about the recent Bloom report has continued in various fora during recent weeks. These discussions are going to be an essential part of the faith engagement strategy that emerges, whether that looks like a coherent plan or a collection of separate policies and projects.

It is therefore important to ensure the picture of government, faith and society portrayed by the report is accurate before we begin to prescribe projects and solutions, making sure the ground has been properly surveyed before we begin building on it.

In this sense, while we agree with the broad strokes of the analysis and prescriptions put forward in the Bloom report, we believe that it is incomplete. Instead, those of us engaging in these discussions ought to combine its analysis with those set out in a series of other reports produced in recent years, such as the Keeping the Faith reports and the Kruger Report (Levelling Up Our Communities), in order to gain a more holistic understanding of the faith and society landscape. Taking these findings together gives us surer footing as we seek to construct effective policies for the benefit of individuals, communities, and our national society.

In a series of recent podcasts, Daniel took the opportunity to respond to the Bloom report and expand on some of these ideas.