I believe Tony’s text on his recent visit to Czech Republic and their dealings with the issues of church-state relations is very interesting and educational. My desire is that you will enjoy reading it.
Tony Peck is the European Baptist Federation general secretary, and a British Baptist pastor. This is his story
”The government of the Czech Republic has been addressing the question of compensation for church property confiscated during the communist era. The government has offered all the churches a considerable annual sum of money for each of the next thirty years by way of restitution. After a long period of debate, nearly all the Churches in the Czech Ecumenical Council decided to accept this government compensation…
…except the Baptists, who were divided in their opinion about it. A few years ago when, for the same reason, the government offered some state help to pay the salaries of pastors, about half the Baptist churches accepted it and half refused. This latest compensation issue, though, had to be decided by the whole Union. Each church discussed it and come to its own recommendation. And then the whole Union came together and after a lively debate voted by a narrow majority not to accept the money offered by the state for the work of the Union.
Were they right or wrong? The debate goes on within the churches and within the Union. Some felt that by deciding the matter as a Union the ‘congregational principle’ had been breached. Others were equally sure that to accept such money, which would actually amount to a lot more than the value of the Baptist buildings confiscated in the communist time, was to deny an important aspect of Baptist identity – the essential separation of church and state. I think it took some courage of conviction for the majority in a small Baptist Union to turn down a considerable annual grant from the State, which might have enabled new initiatives of the Union and its churches.
Outside reaction to the decision has been interesting. There has been some dismay from ecumenical partners of the Baptists who wanted the Churches in the Czech Republic to agree together about this question. The Baptists stand alone in their opposition. But then, Baptists have always been non-conformists.
In the secular media (and the Czech Republic is one of the most ‘secular’ countries in Europe) there has been a lot of interest in the decision of the Union, and some support and praise for the Baptists from those who do not see why taxpayers’ money should be given to the churches in a country which has such a small number of professing Christians.
It is not the first time that I have encountered approval from secularists for our Baptist understanding of the separation of church and state, and that no religious group or groups should have a ‘privileged’ position in society. Some years ago a prominent member of the British Humanist Society told me of his liking for Baptists because of their opposition to State Churches, privileged status, and state-funded religion.
Should I feel concerned about these approval ratings for Baptists by secular society? Well, yes, if their spokesmen go on to conclude, as they often do, that we are content to have our faith put into a privatised space in society with no expectation that Christians will have any right to contribute to debates in the public square.
But, no, if it means that we are true to our Baptist origins and identity of putting forward a vision of a society which guarantees space and freedom for all religions – and that for us means that no religious group should be privileged regarding state recognition or financial support. For us Baptists our full and committed involvement in society is by influence as salt and light; not by privilege or entitlement.
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