FASCISM AND RELIGION
[To the Editor of Tim SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I was very interested in the letter of Mr. Lindsay S. Garrett, contained in your issue of the 16th.
I would remind Mr. Garrett of the differing functions of Church and State. In actual fact the duty of the Church (that is to say, of Religion in general), is to inculcate Christian principles into the people, for the salvation of their souls. The duty of the State is to frame the laws governing the people's lives, in the economic and social sphere, in order to preserve justice and economic security for the masses. The two spheres are quite different, and need not clash in any way. The Church, for instance, is right in pointing out the injustice of high profits for employers and low wages for employees, but the truth is that it is itself quite incapable of enforcing justice except by indirect action—influencing the people to adopt a Christian attitude. On the other hand, it is the duty of the State, as representing the people, to remedy the social evils that exist, and to do that the State must have authority from the mass of the people themselves.
That is why Fascism is not, as he suggests, a one-man dictatorship bolstered up by military force, against the will of the people. Fascism cannot exist and function except by the direct will of the people. Fascism is a Dictatorship of the people's will, expressed through a Government of their own choice, empowered by them to Carry out their will.----Yours, &c.,
MARGARET COLLINS, For the British Union of Fascisti and National Socialists.
Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, Westminster, S.W.r.
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