A recent survey of 130 homes in a Melbourne suburb asked people (among other things) if they did anything to “nurture their spiritual side”, to which 50% responded that they did. Answers included going to church (about 40% of those who answered ‘yes’), going to a Buddhist Temple, yoga, doing social service, tarot cards. Some said playing golf was a spiritual exercise, and one person claimed restoring old things was their activity for spiritual refreshment.

There is, I suppose, something spiritually satisfying about restoring old things, making junk into beauty, making something dead come back to life; and golf, if played for the fresh air and nature and time to think, may occasion some spiritual refreshment. But the poor old Christian church which is supposed to be the repository of the words of God, the fountain of the Holy Spirit, the school for spirituality and a blast furnace for spiritual passion is not quite filling the bill these days.

In the survey, another question asked ‘Why do you think most people don’t attend church?’ and the answers were, (in summary form):

Church is not relevant to me – I’m too busy, uninterested, different lifestyle – about 60%

I don’t believe in Jesus, God, or church – about 11%

I don’t know enough about it, never thought about it – about 10%

The church is no good – too pushy, not child-friendly, don’t need it to be a Christian – 7%

And the rest were alternative views of only 1 or 2 people.

The church has been in many worse states. The worst times are when the ministers have been bad. Nothing like a bad minister to put people off church. In 17th century England, one writer of the time said that in his district, most of the preachers were immoral, many were drunkards and could get no other work, some couldn’t read (but could recite the Common Prayer service), most only preached less than four times a year, and the few who showed a bit of dedication or who tried to improve things were often jailed for dissent.

The church was powerless and the government liked it that way. Much of Australian history would show something similar. When the church got livened up in England under the Wesleyan revival of the 18th century, it gave impetus to social reform through men like Shaftesbury and Wilberforce- child labour laws, the abolition of slavery, education, hospitals, and prison reform.

A recent study of rural churches in Australia pointed out that, though church people only make up a small percentage of the population, they perform 80% of voluntary work done in the community. And it is true in our district where the people I know in churches do a power of unpaid work for the good of the community.

So getting back to the spirituality question, the best test of spirituality is whether or not it makes its practitioners better people – people who are more compassionate, motivated, good and fair. It should be a belief that leads us into social service. A belief that bounces me out of bed in the morning. And a belief that gets me jailed for dissent.

Can’t see many golfers going that way!

Geoff Lesslie

May 2006