On being public with faith
On being public with faith
From Piccadilly station to Manchester Cathedral: a note on the ways of being public with faith.
by Dominic Budhi-Thornton,
When I go to Manchester, I tend to get a train that stops at Piccadilly station. To get to Manchester Cathedral you have to walk about a mile down one long stretch of shops, cafes, restaurants and stalls. It’s a hive of activity, with buskers often spaced meters apart from one another. Interestingly, I often see a number of examples of ‘public faith’. There are usually one or two street preachers with various placards, a speaker and a microphone. Usually, their message centres on the need to be saved quickly, because you don’t know what will happen when you die, and when that is going to happen…it could be today! I have also walked past numerous Jehovah’s witnesses and Mormons. There’s also been a marquee with leaders from the local mosque giving leaflets about the Qur’an and the Islamic faith.
This is one way of being public with faith. While those who operate with this kind of public faith do so with noble intentions – indeed I have experience on both ends of the microphone – the end result, in my view, is a bland view of the world that stops us seeing God’s presence in the lives of others, and in the world. We reduce Christianity to ideas, beliefs and messages, rather than seeing Christianity as a way of being that bears witness to the God who is present in both the church and the world. However, there are alternative forms of public faith that have different aims and enable us to see God in the lives of our neighbours.
I spent a number of years for my PhD studying the public theology of Manchester Cathedral. Briefly, public theology is theological reflection on public life, both offered in the church and in society. It explores how Christians can engage the world and in society. The significant emphasis of public theologians is found in Jeremiah 29:7:
But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
For Jeremiah, the exiles’ task was not to make Babylon Jewish, to try and convert their captors. Rather, their task was to love their neighbours as themselves, to seek to do good in the place they found themselves, however disturbed and conflicted they felt about this task. And at Manchester Cathedral, the goal is the same.
Why cathedrals?
If you are anything like how I was before I started my PhD, you’ll think that cathedrals are little more than great tourist attractions, which ought to be awed for their stonework, grand ceilings, incredible organs, and their general ability to make one feel as though they have stepped into another time. I would not have thought that cathedrals could be exciting spaces of mission and witness. But isn’t it interesting how cathedrals seem to operate as points of gathering for important cultural, city and national events? As Simon Oliver says:
When bombs explode on our streets, a member of the Royal Family dies, a nation remembers its war dead, or a national charity wants to celebrate the anniversary of its founding, we default to a more substantial and enduring ‘middle’, the cathedral, which, because of its Christian proclamation, provides an expression of unity and hope that exceeds the chaotic pluralities of modern society. It is a genuine via media, lying comprehensively in the middle of public and private, sacred and secular, heaven and earth.
What I find interesting about cathedrals generally, is that they seem to transcend boundaries that might be assumed to be in place. They are both civic spaces, and social spaces. They can be used for secular events but are always sacred spaces. There may be a market hall put up in the Nave, while the Eucharist takes place in the Quire. And as such, they are unique spaces, that all people can feel welcomed within to participate.
Manchester Cathedral aims to be a space which fosters cohesion, unity and justice within the diversity of its city. Through various networks, forms of social action, hosting debates and forums, celebrations of all kinds, engaging with people of all faiths and non, seeking inclusion for those marginalised and excluded, the cathedral aims to be a beacon of hope and life in its city. It strives to be a cathedral to people of all faiths and none.
During the session I am leading on the Faith in Public: Political Theology for Mission residential, I will be exploring the theological and biblical foundations for political engagement. We will visit Manchester Cathedral and it will be a key case study to explore some of these themes more deeply. Book your place now.
Dominic Budhi-Thornton is a public theologian who explores the connection between faith and practice, particularly in relation to marginalised communities and issues of justice. He is the author of the book Public Theology in the Post-Secular Age: Lessons Learned from Manchester Cathedral (Pickwick: 2025).
