FAQs

• I’m a person of faith. But religion and politics. Really?

• I’m not religious: keep your beliefs out of politics, please.

• But don’t the “Left” hate religion?

• How can a Christian align with a Party? I can't agree with everything they stand for.

• What’s your position on abortion and LGBTQ+ and…?

• Isn’t politics a “dirty business”? They’re all on the make.

• How can Christians get involved without getting compromised or corrupted?

• Are you a political party?

• So who funds you?

• Are you for Catholics/Mormans/[insert other groupings] too?

• Do you have to be a Labour Party member? Does joining make you a Labour Party Member?

• Didn't you used to be called The Christian Socialist Movement (CSM)?

• Are you still Socialists?

Yes. But perhaps not as you know it…

If people of faith keep their noses out of politics, then how do we expect to see the fundamental changes that are required for justice within our systems, laws and structures? If we’re going to see the end of the Five Week Wait or see an end to Third World Debt and better laws against harrasment and domestic violence, rather than continuing to run food banks, provide international aid and council victims and perpetrators (which are great things to do, but would be far better if they weren’t needed at all…) then our faith drives us not just to campaign, but to create change from within: including by getting elected.

More.

Tricky that. Can you keep your atheism/agnosticism/humanism out of politics?

We all believe in something, even if that something is nothing. Our beliefs shape the way we see the world (our “perspective”) and we can’t separate that out, just like we can’t remove our family, our skin colour or our culture from our identity. It doesn’t have to mean unfair bias, it just means we all view the world in a different way and that’s OK.

American politics influences views across the world and sadly US politics is much more polarised when it comes to people of faith, particularly on certain issues. Some people on the Left assume that we live in a post-relgious era, but the fact remains that more people in this country and on our planet believe in a God than those who don’t. We believe that the “Left” is a space for everyone which includes those of all faiths and none. The Labour Party’s Faith Envoy is currently Stephen Timms MP.

You’re right. You can’t. But you probably don’t agree with everything that your best friend or partner believes, and you certainly don’t agree with everything that your church believes, yet you covenant together, finding common cause for the greater good.

Acceptance and agreement are not the same thing. It is criminally dishonest to pretend that we agree with every opinion or life choice of those whom we accept and love. This is surely after all the basis of any healthy long-term relationship.

We have been lulled by the world’s media into believing something that is altogether sinister. Read any newspaper or web article and you will notice that whenever two groups or two individuals disagree about something, there is an innate presumption that those individuals or groups are not in good relationship. There is a presumption that those who disagree on a certain issue will not be able to extend an arm of fellowship or embrace toward each other. Acceptance and agreement are not the same thing.

To effect change we need to co-operate with those with whom we may not necessarily agree on everything. Now there’s a challenge!

Just as there are a whole spectrum of views in society and the Labour Party on these big topics (not just the polarising “for” and “against”) our members represent a host of differing opinions on what these issues mean, both in relation to their faith and in relation to their politics. As an organisation we don’t have a “position”; we are here to encourage people to discuss their differences in a civil and constructive fashion, to realise that despite vastly different perspectives there are some things we can agree on, and that first and foremost, all people are equal, flawed, completely loved and made in the image of God.

People often ridicule politicians en-masse as money and power-grabbers, but when you ask them about their own local MP they almost always say, “Oh, she’s wonderful. She does a lot of good work for the community. If only they were all like her.” The media have a vested interest in publishing what is tragic and scandalous, at the expense of the honourable and mundane. Our “build them up, then knock them down” celebrity culture applies just as much to politics as it does to sport and music. Could we encourage, resource and empower, rather than gossip and stereotype?

if we truly desire to see the political system “cleaned up”, it is much more likely to happen when those who have that passion become involved. As yet, my bath has never got cleaner because I have stood beside it, shaking my head wearily at the state of it and speaking cleanness over it (though I keep praying!) It gets clean when I get into it and clean it. Our engagement or lack of it reveals how much we really care. Will we simply critique like Pharisees, or serve like Jesus?

We have news for you. We are inevitably corrupted by the system.

To pretend that we can as Christians simply sit outside the systems of our world is pure nonsense. Every time you fill a car with petrol, you are supporting some very questionable Middle Eastern rulers. Every time you shop at a supermarket, you may be endorsing the destruction of high streets and enabling shoddy treatment of food suppliers. Every time you pay for a newspaper, re-order your broadband, use your local library, visit your GP, renew your house insurance, you are more deeply imbedded in the disturbing, complex (yet ultimately redeemable) structures of our world.

You can’t avoid it.

You ARE part of the system and you are supporting it by your mere existence. The question is not whether you are involved. We ARE involved! The question is whether you sit passively just letting it all happen, or whether you act to change things.

No. We’re entirely independent from any political party.

However, we’re proud to be affiliated to the Labour Party since 1988, which means we pay them a small fee per member and in return, we get to have a great working relationship: the “Socialist Socities” have a representative on the Labour NEC and we give advice and support wherever we can and whenever we’re invited.

If you’re in a CLP and you’d like someone to talk about Socialist Societies or the role that Churches and Christians have in the Labour Party, get in touch.

Our members. Almost exclusively. When we run events with other organisations, they sometimes contribute towards the costs. Other than that, over the last 5 years or more we’ve been 100% funded by membership payments, donations and legacies.

If you believe in our faith values and our political aims, then we would love to welcome you to the movement. We have many active Catholics within Christians on the Left, as well as Methodists, Anglicans, Mormons, RCCG, Baptists, Independents, Church of Scotland… You name it.

In short, no and no. We’re entirely independent but we are a Socialist Society affiliated with the Labour Party. We have many members who are also active Labour Party Members but we have many members who aren’t ready to take that step yet. We also have some Green members.

Joining a socialist society no more makes you a Labour Party Member than joining a Trade Union does, but we believe they are all great organisations to get involved with and hope that you’ll find out more when you’re ready.

See https://labour.org.uk/members/why-join-labour/

and https://www.tuc.org.uk/why-join-union

Yes, we are the continuation of the Christian Socialist Movement, formed in 1960. Our members voted overwhelmingly for a fresh name in 2013, but we renewed our commitment to Christian Socialist priniciples, even strengthening them in our constitution. Read more here.