Fuzzy Fidelity

What is the dominant religion in Britain today , Robert Piggott , the BBC religious affairs correspondent has an answer. It is not , as you would expect, outright secularism, and certainly not atheism. Far from it , the default position of the majority is what he calls “Fuzzy Fidelity” .He has the research to back it up taken from the Cathie centre for Census and Survey Research in Manchester. The attitudes to religion that predominate can be summarised by the following statements : “A mild dose of it is good for you “ ,“It is a social good “ “I believe something .. sometimes” .
A large group have renounced organised religion but are unwilling to abandon their connection to the Church entirely . They attend seasonal services and rites of passage celebrations but with such determination that a cynical explanation grows less plausible. The group is highly various , some are weak deists, others undecided, some cling to a residual “small voice"; yet more are merely unhappy with materialism. A full 72% of people at the last census identified themselves as Christian and this incontrovertible fact cannot be massaged into non existence .
Professor Linda Woodhead at Lancaster University sees this tenacity in terms of an identity crisis. If we are not white Christians then we are ..what ? . Dr. Abby Day claims to have discovered a growing identification of Church going with sorts of middleclass aspiration, which I find far fetched . The “Damascean” conversion which strikes as ones children approach school age is well documented elsewhere of course. Intriguingly, it has been suggested that it is fashionable , once more , to be religious.If there is an ephemerality to the current “vogue “ that may explain why the Churches voice is not uniformly stronger on moral issues .I think I detect a growing interest in Christian derived morality as it relates to abortion , but I am speaking for myself .
Professor Voas who conducted the research claims we are at staging post on the way to full secularism . I do not agree ….I cannot exactly tell you why but I feel a wind blowing in a new direction . I notice an increased interest in our own history and its Chistian elemements .
I happened to be watching a programme in which a long haired but in fact achingly traditional Cof E Vicar from nearby looked at Zen Buddhism . It was first of a series in which he will taste-test exotic disciplines in search of the usual nebulous rewards. It was by no means as bad as it sounds, but it occurred to me that the BBC have missed a tremendous opportunity. Think of the audience for a "History of the Church of England" . Its intellectual ferment , its martyrs, its virile confidence and glorious works from Donne to St.Pauls to the the Book of Commons Prayer. All this lurks behind the jumble sales and apologetic vicars of today. What a riveting story it would make.
We seem to have reached an impasse ,faith will not die but cannot find a resting place . I just have a feeling that we will start to reappraise our own heritage as the first and best place to look for answers .
Sources
Http://www.ccsr.ac.uk/staff/voas.html
Http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/religstudies/index.php
Http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/apply/research/sfi/ahrcsi/religion_
Economic and Social Research Council Publication “ Britain in 2008”