God And Menzies

Religion is central to Western civilisation, according to Robert Menzies. So too is tolerance for all denominations and faiths. By David Furse-Roberts.

Order God & Menzies: The Faith that Shaped a Prime Minister and his Nation (2021) from the MRC bookshop. Click here to purchase

Delivering his keynote Forgotten People broadcast on 22 May 1942, Robert Menzies remarked that, ‘Human nature is greatest when it combines dependence upon God with independence of man.”  His appreciation of human independence, of course, sprung from his liberal philosophy that individuals could improve themselves through education and other civilising influences. What was also important, however, was Menzies’ belief that reliance upon God for guidance and redemption led to human flourishing.

Now what did the Liberal Party founder mean when he spoke of “dependence upon God” as being key to human greatness? My forthcoming book, God and Menzies, will seek to answer this by examining the religious outlook of Australia’s longest-serving prime minister.

Beginning with his birth and upbringing, this book will reveal how the son of a Presbyterian-turned-Methodist lay preacher imbibed his affection of the Bible that formed the cornerstone of his faith and moral principles. In a 1960 speech to the Bible Society, Menzies described the Bible as the “repository of our faith and our inspiration.”

As a man committed to making palpable differences to people lives, Menzies favoured an eminently practical Christianity focused on enriching the community through good works. Accordingly, he greatly esteemed the practical Christianity of churches such as the Salvation Army and the Central Methodist Missions of Melbourne and Sydney. In his own Presbyterian Church, he identified closely with the Rev Dr J Fred McKay, the successor to Rev John Flynn of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Regarding McKay as a personal friend and spiritual confidante, he admired the clergyman as a “good, practical Christian.”

True to his own epithet as a “simple Presbyterian”, Menzies’ personal brand of Protestant Christianity was orthodox, yet inclusive and emphatically non-sectarian. The study will explore how Menzies used his ecumenical instincts to build bridges with Australian Catholics which led to his government’s watershed decision to grant state aid to Catholic and Independent schools in 1963.

As well as forging warm ties with Australia’s Catholics, Menzies enjoyed an excellent rapport with Australia’s Jewish community. The book will recognise Menzies’ affirmation for Australia’s Jews to occupy an important place within the broader Australian community. Frequently invited to speak at synagogues and other ceremonies organised by the Jewish community, Menzies praised the Jewish people for their contribution to Australia. 

As a proud liberal who shunned religious intolerance, Menzies was a stalwart for religious freedom. In his “Freedom of Worship” broadcast of 3 July 1942, and in other addresses, Menzies had much to say about the religious freedom of all citizens in a democracy. This book will discuss Menzies’ concept of religious freedom and how his principles are relevant to debates about religious freedom in Australia today. 

Menzies’ commitment to religious liberty and broad liberal ideals was shaped not only by the Enlightenment but also by his Christian convictions. In the early 1940s, he described democracy as based on the Christian conception that every human soul stood “equal in the sight of God”. Although Menzies never founded the Liberal Party in 1944 as an avowedly “Christian Party”, its core beliefs in human dignity and freedom, the family, volunteerism and the “blessings of divine providence” could resonate with Australian Protestants and Catholics alike. His opposition to Cold War communism as the foe of liberal democracy, moreover, was just as much spiritual and moral as it was political and economic.

This work appreciates that in addition to informing his views on religious liberty, democracy and Australian Liberalism, the faith of Menzies was critical to his philosophy of education. For Australia’s pre-eminent “education prime minister”, faith was essential to forging the spiritual and ethical outlook of the pupil from kindergarten to university. Speaking to a parliamentary motion on education in 1945, Menzies observed that “religion gives to people a sensitive understanding of their obligations” which alone could make a community of individuals successful. As Prime Minister, Menzies valued church and independent schools not so much as bastions of privilege but as builders of moral character.

The book portrays a conviction politician whose own world view was anchored in the faith of his upbringing, yet one with broad enough sympathies to identify with multiple faith groups in his vision to advance freedom and realise the common good for Australia. By probing the spiritual dimension to Menzies, readers will appreciate the inspiration behind so many aspects of his legacy from his conception of democracy and liberalism, to his staunch opposition to communism, championing of religious freedom and non-sectarianism, support for values-based education and abiding belief in personal character.