A bold and vigorous critique of Gordon Brown’s vague thinking about ‘community’ and ‘Britishness’ and of recent church pronouncements on social policy.

Mark Chapman, author of the acclaimed and widely discussed Blair’s Britain, attacks the Labour government’s vague thinking about ‘community’ and ‘Britishness’ and shows how for several years church leaders have colluded with failed approaches to pluralism, multi-culturalism and diversity.

In this provocative essay Chapman argues for a completely new approach. Instead of promoting nebulous ideas such as ‘community cohesion’ the churches should demand social policies that will re-invigorate society at the grass roots level through the concrete redistribution of wealth coupled with radical steps to free local government as far as possible from centralised control. Communities, he argues, cohere through coming together for specific ends. Against the grain of much contemporary thinking, Chapman understands Christianity less in terms of fellowship and community and more in terms of justice and mercy, ideas which apply to all – Christian and non-Christian alike.

Mark D. Chapman is the Vice-President of Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford, and the editor of Celebrating Creation.