Faith and Culture

The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Diarmuid Martin, spoke on Faith and Culture at an ecumenical gathering for evensong at Christ Church on 13 November, 2016, the eve of the Feast of St. Laurence O’Toole. His focus was on how Christians can contribute to building up secular society in our contemporary world, asking:

In an increasingly secularised Ireland, how can faith contribute today to the process of the grounding of the values which should inspire our modern society?

The riches of the Christian tradition have so much to say to every generation. Christian communities can learn too from their interaction with the issues and needs of the day and grow as they respond. The Archbishop continued:

The debate between faith and culture and social values is not something esoteric for the experts.  It is vital for the healthy growth of a pluralist society. It constitutes an essential contribution to the search for a common language which can communicate with and captivate all the components of a pluralist society.

I am not advocating a return to a theocracy.  I am challenging believers to find a language from our own rich faith tradition which can be understood and welcomed in a pluralist world.