Why God and Menzies

Robert Menzies’ strong sense of spirituality informed his political philosophy and attitude to the key policy issues of post war Australia. By David Furse-Roberts.

Otto von Bismarck once observed that “The statesman's task is to hear God's footsteps marching through history, and to try and catch on to His coattails as He marches past”. Every national leader with a sense of divine providence has exhibited this sentiment in different ways, whether seeing themselves as God’s “anointed” leader for “such a time as this”, as was true of the patriarchs of biblical times, or whether they simply believe that statecraft involves observing and acting on the moral precepts of revealed religion. In the case of Australia’s twelfth Prime Minister, Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, it was clearly a case of the latter as his political philosophy and vision was, to a large degree, informed explicitly by Christian principles.

By any historical reckoning, Menzies was a giant of Australian politics. As well as leading Australia into the Second World War and shepherding Australia’s growth through the post-war years, his great legacy was founding the modern centre-right Liberal Party of Australia in 1944. The spiritual dimension to such a consequential figure for modern Australia therefore merits serious exploration. For this self-described “simple Presbyterian”, the spiritual impulses of Menzies derived from the Bible but were mediated through a variety of Christian traditions and experiences in his formative years.

For anybody seeking to understand one of the great impulses that made Australia’s longest-serving Prime Minister ‘tick’, God & Menzies is essential reading.

The purpose of this book is to explore the religious faith that Menzies imbibed through his family background and church circles, and then to explore how this faith shaped not only his political creed but his understanding of religious freedom, relationship with other faith traditions and philosophy of education. With Menzies having a formative influence on the country he led, it is therefore a study of the real-life impact of these ideas on Australia.

In Australia’s own history since Federation, Robert Menzies has been Australia’s longest serving prime minister and one of its most consequential. Holding office as prime minister for a total of more than eighteen years, he helped lay the foundations for modern Australia in foreign affairs and defence, education, housing and economic reform that made the nation ultimately more secure and prosperous. As Josh Frydenberg recognised, however, “the most enduring aspect of Menzies’ legacy was his conviction, his civility, and his principles”. These sprang from his personal moral character and political philosophy, which, in turn, were moulded by a sincere yet often understated religious faith.

One of the tasks of this book is to explore this faith of Menzies in greater depth and to explain how it informed his guiding precepts of the “fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man”, the immortality of the human soul, the equality of all human beings before God, the ethic of a selfless individualism, the notion that a citizen’s duties preceded their rights, and the ideal for citizens in civil society to live as “members of one another”. Such precepts mattered profoundly to Menzies as he believed that they were critical not only to his vision for a flourishing human society, but also to the very survival of liberalism and democracy itself. Indeed, he once warned that “If we are all tired democrats, eager beneficiaries but reluctant contributors, democracy would collapse under its own weight”.

Menzies’ values assumed concrete form when he founded the Liberal Party of Australia late in 1944. God & Menzies explores the extent to which the founding philosophy of the Liberal Party was informed by Christian principles from both Protestant and Catholic streams of thought. In so doing, it will demonstrate that the modern Liberal Party, though secular in the classical sense of being non-ecclesiastical, was not conceived in a spiritual and moral vacuum, but on the contrary, was heir to a robust Judeo-Christian tradition affirming of individual dignity and freedom, strong families and subsidiarity, together with an ethical citizenship of neighbourly love, social justice and religious toleration. 

As religious freedom has become more of a contested issue in the public domain, both in Australia and overseas, this book offers a timely reminder that this was a key tenet of Menzies’ philosophy and that of his Liberal Party. With the contemporary advance of secularism encroaching on some religious liberties, God & Menzies draws attention to the reality that religious freedom, whilst popularly cherished, can never be taken for granted, even in free societies such as Australia. It is a reminder that in the interests of unleashing the innate spiritual impulses of human individuals and maintaining a vibrant democracy, Menzies’ principles of religious freedom remain eminently timeless and applicable.

With the religious faith and outlook of Menzies representing a largely fresh field of inquiry, the study behind this book draws extensively from Menzies’ own papers, including his speeches, lectures, addresses, diaries and correspondence. The public pronouncements of Menzies on matters spiritual were typically made not so much in formal contexts, but at “lower key” community events such as school speech nights and church functions. In more personal and intimate surrounds, Menzies perhaps felt less inhibition to speak from the heart about the deeper questions of life such as faith, spirituality and philosophy. It is accordingly Menzies’ words from occasions of this kind that feature throughout this book.  

In a nation that is heir to a rich inheritance of Christian traditions, yet one where its citizens and public figures seldom wear their faith on their sleeves, a major study on the religious faith of an Australian prime minister may appear somewhat curious. Yet any thorough study of Menzies’ words on a whole range of themes and topics will reveal that his philosophical instincts and worldview bore an unmistakable spiritual foundation that is worthy of further exploration. Characteristic of Australian leaders, Menzies was never given to ostentatious, public displays of his religiosity but nonetheless felt free to speak his mind on matters of spiritual significance. In so doing, he did not conceal the fact that his views on politics, culture and ethics were informed by Judeo-Christian precepts.

As the chapters of this book reveal, faith made a palpable contribution to his championing of religious freedom and challenging of sectarianism, to positive relations with the Jewish community, understanding of liberal democracy, opposition to communism, support for values-based education and emphasis on personal moral character. At a stylistic level, moreover, his public utterances were not infrequently seasoned with familiar, biblical turns-of-phrase, such as “my brother’s keeper”, “house of many mansions” and “the truth shall set ye free”, suggesting that his own faith and piety were richly imbued with the scriptures.

With this evident spiritual thread running through Menzies’ thoughts, pronouncements and policies, God & Menzies embarks upon the quest to explore the essence of this statesman’s religious beliefs and how they informed his political philosophy and attitude to so many of the key issues in post-war Australia such as Cold War communism, foreign aid, private enterprise and initiative, self-reliance, welfare, sectarianism and education.

This is an edited extract from David Furse-Roberts’ new book, God & Menzies: The Faith that Shaped a Prime Minister and his Nation, Jeparit Press, 2021. Click here to buy the book.