BHA President Polly Toynbee took part in a debate yesterday, ‘Does the decline of religion in the UK matter?’, in front of mixed and high-profile audience.
Ms Toynbee began by urging people to ‘put aside “Golden Age-ism”’, referring specifically to those who claim that there was some time in our history where society was better because it was more religious, or because the Church had more influence than now – a “Golden Age” that never existed. Ms Toynbee said that ‘all change has a mixture of some losses and some gains’, before emphasising the many positive benefits of the decline of religion in the UK. For example, that people are now free to choose which communities they belong to and can make their own ways in life.
Reflecting on claims made that it is religious individuals and groups who sustain civil society, Ms Toynbee said that there is no sign that the decline in the church is affecting the voluntary sector and, in fact, that the great majority of activity in the voluntary sector is actually outside of religion.
Ms Toynbee then discussed morality, stating that there is ‘a pretty even spread of goodness between the religious and non-religious’. Our society has also changed in terms of making judgments on behaviour. ‘We are less tolerant of things that put people at risk, such as drink driving, and more tolerant of those that don’t, such as gay rights.’
Polly Toynbee was debating Phillip Blond, at an event organised by the think tank Civitas.
Notes
The British Humanist Association (BHA) is the national charity representing the interests of the large and growing population of ethically concerned, non-religious people living in the UK.