The resignation of Baroness Warsi over the government’s policy on Gaza means that the relatively recently created role of Minister for Faith and Communities is unfilled.

It was never a role that was without critics. For some it was blatant tokenism – a way of seeming to value a prominent Muslim woman in the Cabinet while in practice demoting her from her previous role. The parameters and practicalities of the portfolio never seemed to be fully worked out and beyond Lady Warsi’s genuine effort to highlight the importance of religious freedom and advocate on behalf of ethnic and religious groups it was unclear what was ever really envisaged. For others, of a more muscular secular mentality, the role was a disgrace, a shameless entwining of church and state.

Baroness Warsi leaves government - her undermining of secular principles and tackling extremism means I am delighted she has left office.

— John Sargeant (@JPSargeant78) August 5, 2014

One difficulty has been highlighted simply by the nature of the resignation. The role was extra to Warsi’s role as a foreign office minister and it is on a foreign policy issue that she has ultimately resigned. The faith and community portfolio was always seen as a secondary concern and ultimately, even for someone as unquestionably committed to the idea as Baroness Warsi was, when push came to shove it was a secondary to her work in foreign affairs and with the ICC.

Given all this, what are the chances that the role will survive this resignation and become a regular fixture in British government? Frankly, one would guess, not especially high – which would be a shame at a time when it has significant potential. In the spirit of preserving the role, therefore, I would like to suggest a few issues that could do with a dedicated minister to provide analysis and seek solutions.

1. The ghettoization and lack of integration of certain religious and ethnic groups.

There is a remarkable map which can be found on the internet which provides a map of where particular religious groups are found in England and Wales. It is a stark illustration of how different communities find themselves more and more grouped together in particular parts of the country. If the hope is to create a truly harmonious society which respects freedom of religion without licensing ghettoes, more must be done to address this problem.

2. The distressing and notable rise of cases of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.
 

The latest conflict in Gaza has coincided with a marked rise in cases of racial and/or religious hatred across Europe. This is not merely a cause and effect phenomenon however, since the 2013 International Religious Freedom Report has highlighted increasing concerns and fears among the Jewish communities of Europe. Islamophobia too, in the guise of attacks on mosques and sustained media attacks has been on the rise for several years. Both are extremely worrying developments and deserve proper, dedicated analysis.

3. The enormous social impact of religious groups in terms of the provision of services and support structures.
 

If the first two points were problems needing to be fixed, this third is more a need to respect and respond to the enormous positive social impact of faith groups. The latest Theos report Good Neighbours: How Churches help communities to flourish found that around 10 million people say that they or a close family member have used a church service in the last 12 months (excluding weddings, funerals and religious services). These services include nurseries, job clubs, foodbanks, cafes, clothes exchanges and many, many others. That amounts to a colossal amount of work and support for communities that needs to be carefully supported so that it can be at its most effective. This is a key aspect of what the Big Society was meant to be and deserves to be taken seriously and utilized most effectively.

A critic might argue that there is nothing linking these issues beyond a very loose tie-in with the idea of “faith” and that, therefore, a role is effectively for a Minister for Stuff (largely stuff that other people don’t want to do). After all, there is already a minister for justice and equality and for the police to discuss issues of religious hatred. The Secretary for Work and Pensions already has a remit to cover social service provision and other “faith” issues might respectively come under the ministers responsible for education, prisons, equalities, health etc.

Yet it is precisely because of the nature of such issues that a minster for faith and communities would have a value. Such is the intertwining of these various sectors with issues of identity, ethnicity and religion that taking each under the individual remits of different departments is a recipe for inconsistency and a lack of “joined-up thinking”. A figure able to co-ordinate and consider the issues beyond an individual department’s concerns has huge potential – so long as the Prime Minister is prepared to support and resource the role appropriately. First, of course, he needs to pick the right candidate.

Ben Ryan is a researcher at Theos

Image from flikr.com by UK in Holy See under the Creative Commons Licence