er
but formal prayer and the support of others, praying in unison. The
writer does not understand this desire or need for collective prayer
very well, but there are people who appear to do so and there is no
reason why they should not assemble for that purpose. And there is
no doubt that divine poetry, divine maxims, religious thought
finely expressed, may be heard, rehearsed, collected, published, and
distributed by associations. The desire for expression implies a sort
of assembly, a hearer at least as well as a speaker. And expression has
many forms. People with a strong artistic impulse will necessarily want
to express themselves by art when religion touches them, and many arts,
architecture and the drama for example, are collective undertakings. I
do not see why there should not be, under God, associations for building
cathedrals and suchlike great still places urgent with beauty, into
which men and women may go to rest from the clamour of the day's
confusions; I do not see why men should not make great shrines and
pictures expressing their sense of divine things, and why they should
not combine in such enterprises rather than work to fill heterogeneous
and chaotic art galleries. A wave of religious revival and religious
clarification, such as I foresee, will most certainly bring with it a
great revival of art, religious art, music, songs, and writings of
all sorts, drama, the making of shrines, praying places, temples and
retreats, the creation of pictures and sculptures. It is not necessary
to have priestcraft and an organised church for such ends. Such
enrichments of feeling and thought are part of the service of God.

And again, under God, there may be associations and fraternities
for research in pure science; associations for the teaching and
simplification of languages; associations for promoting and watching
education; associations for the discussion of political problems and
the determination of right policies. In all these ways men may multiply
their use by union. Only when associations seek to control things
of belief, to dictate formulae, restrict religious activities or the
freedom of religious thought and teaching, when they tend to subdivide
those who believe and to set up jealousies or exclusions, do they become
antagonistic to the spirit of modern religion.

5. THE STATE IS GOD'S INSTRUMENT

Because religion cannot be organised, because God is everywhere and
immediately accessible to every