The Dean’s Yard, Westminster Abbey © Mirsasha under a Creative Commons licence.

I should start by saying I’d intended to post this some days ago, but found myself overtaken by pressure of work.

On 14th February the Faith Communities Forum (which is part of the Inter Faith Network for the UK) met in Church House at the invitation of the Bishop of Bradford and the General Synod of the Church of England.

© Greycap under a Creative Commons licence.

After learning about the complex arrangements for the governance of the Church of England, those present at the FCCC meeting (a Baha’i, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, a Jain, a Jew, Muslims, a Sikh, and a Zoroastrian) trooped up into the gallery of the Assembly Hall in Church House to attend a session of the General Synod of the Church of England.

(Synod = an assembly of the clergy and sometimes also the laity in a diocese or other division of a particular church. ORIGIN late Middle English : via late Latin from Greek sunodos “meeting”, from sun- “together” + hodos “way”.)

Simply put, the Synod is the Church of England’s deliberative body, made up of three “houses”, the House of Bishops, the House of Clergy and the House of Laity. Some of its debates are about internal Church affairs, but some are about public issues, and today - after the Archbishop of Canterbury had made speeches bidding farewell to two retiring bishops - we were able to listen to a debate about detention without trial and our government’s proposal to extend the current 28-day limit for detention without trial in cases of people suspected of committing or preparing to commit acts of terrorism to 42 days.

The Church’s style of decision-making is a considerable contrast to what Baha’is are used to. “Baha’i consultation” is a much more informal process. There are no formal speeches for and against the motion, no proposition and opposition. There may be a paper setting out such facts as are known and the issues that need decision; or the setting out of facts and issues could be done by one or more individuals. Everyone is free to speak to the matter under consultation, adding further facts and information and voicing their opinions. Members of the consultative body are free to speak without having to give advance notice; all they need to do is to indicate to the chair of the meeting that they wish to speak and take their turns when given permission.

When it works well, Baha’i consultation is a creative and exciting process. There comes a time when it feels as if a decision has emerged from the exchange of views. A good chair will be able to articulate what she/he thinks the decision is and members of the consultative body can help fine-tune the decision. Consensus is the ideal, but failing consensus a show of hands will identify the majority position. Once the decision has been made, all those who took part in the consultation are committed to it, whether they voted for or against.

Unlike an adversarial decision-making process (such as a debate), there’s no stacking up of votes, no attempt to persuade people to take one position or another. Those consulting set out the truth as they understand it. Others listen carefully; they may or may not be persuaded by what is said, but the decision (whether by consensus or by vote) is a matter of conscience, not of loyalty to a party or a position.

Of course, Baha’i consultation works well only when those involved are not trying to push through some agenda. Their interest has to be the good of humanity. However, done with self-seeking motives or in bad faith, Baha’i consultation can be a painfully negative, even destructive, experience. It absolutely depends on the personal virtues of those who consult.

The Church of England’s General Synod is a quasi-parliamentary body with 467 members and clearly cannot use an informal process such as the Baha’i community (whose elected consultative bodies generally have nine members) uses. However, it is clearly not a nimble body. It can take years before a decision may be finally confirmed - and if the decision is a “Measure”, it will have to go to a parliamentary committee for approval and submission to the Queen for Royal Assent.

I am fascinated by the way organizations govern themselves. The structure of the Church of England’s governance is complex - even those involved can find it difficult to understand. The structure of the Baha’i community’s governance is relatively simple and has a clear logic and is bound together by Covenant. Of course, as the Baha’i community grows, its system of governance is becoming more elaborate, but the principles that underpin it are those given in the Baha’i Sacred Texts.

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